
Class 



-^ 



L 2 n^S' 




Copyright}]?. 



CiJEXRIGIO' llEfiOSffi 



x/-' 



(S CHRISTIANITY 
A FAILURE 



'. J. EDDY 



6l.iM,^W-^> 



Is Christianity 
A Failure? -j^ 




WHAT IS CHRISTIANITY? 



Is it fair to judge Christianity by its 
fruits ? 

What are the fruits of Christianity 
if not the deplorable conditions of Chris- 
tendom today? 

Does Christianity encourage and ap- 
prove of wars? If not, why do Christian 
nations war between themselves? 



Copyrighted June 1922 



^u^;;: 

.P 



^ 



EPITOME 



Refined stealing and graft are legalized and taught 
in all Christian countries, while crude stealing and rob- 
bery are penalized. 

What we call ''crime waves/* is simply a slopping over 
of the refined crime ever present in our dishonest busi- 
ness system. 

A certain class of people do their stealing according 
to law and custom, and live ''respectably," in fine homes 
without doing any useful work with hands or brain, for 
the society off of which they live, while another class envy 
them, and in trying to pattern after them, do their steal- 
ing illegally and spend most of their time in jail. Legally 
speaking, the first-named class is honorable and the other 
class is criminal. Morally speaking both classes are crim- 
inal. Few of us are held up or injured by the "crime 
wave" crowd, while ever}^body is robbed by the legalized 
stealing people. Both classes have the get-something- for- 
nothing idea strong. In fact, we all have this demoraliz- 
ing idea more or less, and we need a religion that will edu- 
cate us away from it. 

Most everyone desires and hopes for an inheritance ; a 
lucky number in a raffle or lottery; the finding of a well 
filled purse; a "commission" or rake-off on a deal of some 
kind regardless of whether we intend to render an equiv- 
alent or whether we are worthy of it. And our present re- 
ligion (Christianity) cannot consistently protest, because 
it teaches the something-for-nothing idea which rests on 
dishonesty. 

When we get something for nothing, some one else 
usually gets nothing for something, which is not fair, for 
the same reason that stealing is not fair. 

Humanity needs a reformed church advocating a scien- 
tific, practical and universal religion that will teach the 
individual not to covet something for nothing in this life 
or the life to come ; a church and religion that will broad- 
cast moral intelligence so that we all can have real liberty 
of both mind and body. 

©CI.A674807 

• JUL -3 72 



*i^ f 



^ 




FOREWORD 

In order to write intelligently on the subject of this 
book, it seems to me necessary to do that which I 
would greatly prefer not to do. But, as i? often the 
case in clearing land, we must first burn up a lot of 
rubbish and plow under much decayed matter as well 
as destroy an occasional, hornet's nest, it will be neces- 
sary, if we are to improve our earthly conditions, to clear 
our mental land of much rubbish by passing the fire of 
reason over it and burn error to a crisp, leaving a clear 
seed bed for a crop of new ideas to take root among the 
good ancient ideas that survive the cleaning process, 
where all may grow and blossom into a higher and better 
civilization. 

Two hornet's nests must be stirred up : entrenched 
superstitions, ignorance masking as religion, and en- 
trenched greed and selfishness masking as "the greatest 
financial system on earth." Those who make a good 
easy living out of their religion and those who make a 
better, easier living out of our financial system, and think 
more of that living than of common humanity, will play 
the hornet act. This is the reason why religion is a dead 
thing, a hindrance to progress instead of a living help to 
humanity in its fight for betterment. 

I believe our present religion and churches stand 
squarely in the path of progress, hindering instead of 
helping us to a more refined state of society; that it is 
our duty to purify our religion and reform our churches 
and set them to work for us right here on earth, or form 
a new religious or church movement that will crowd the 
old aside, if it refuses to act, and do something real for 
our earthly welfare. For, if we ever have any better 
earthly social conditions, it will be the churches that 
bring about those better conditions. No other human 
agency could cement the great common people of earth 
together strong enough and long enough to accomplish 



4 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

a victory over organized greed and selfishness. The 
unrest is world wide and the cure must be world wide 
also. Nothing but a religious movement will cure our 
political and economic ills and bring real and lasting 
peace to earth. 

My faith in a Supreme Intelligence leads me to be- 
lieve that the time will come when men will be com- 
paratively free from poverty, crime and misery, and 
that it is the duty of us all to do what we can to hasten 
that day. 

I do not wish to be understood as a religious busy- 
body, caring only to carry out my own fads and impose 
my own imperfect ideas of religion on my neighbors, 
I wish to unselfishly work to increase human knowledge, 
virtue and happiness. I do not wish to see the mind of 
anyone enslaved on any subject. I would like to see 
earthly conditions made better for all, and ^or this 
reason alone I would join a religious or church move- 
ment whose main object would be to gather together 
intelligent, moral people, regardless of their individual 
religious views, in churches to work for a better civi- 
lization ; a civilization with an economic system in which 
every person will get justice or a near approach to it; 
will get all he or she earns or produces or its equivalent, 
and in which each able bodied normal adult will be 
compelled to produce or earn all he or she gets, other 
than that which is a willing gift from others ; a civilizaton 
in which poverty will come to no one who does not court 
or desire it; a civilization that would care for the help- 
less sick, crippled and aged, as tenderly and willingly 
as it would care for its helpless infants. 

I do not care to be the cause of any one changing 
his religion or other mental garments any more than I 
would care to be the cause of him changing his coat 
or shoes. I would like to see every person keep the re- 
ligion that suits his mental development best. The more 
ignorant and unthinking a person is the more dogmatism 
and superstition will enter into that person's religion, 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 5 

and I think it is best that it should be so. On the other 
hand the more intelligent and thoughtful a person is, 
the more scientific that person's religion will be, and 
ordinarily, it does no good and often much harm, to argue 
on purely religious matters. Each person is bound to 
have a religious view suitable to his or her stage of in- 
tellectual development and should be allowed to enjoy 
it in peace as long the welfare of others is not jeopar- 
dized. I believe that it is not wrong to think and use 
my reason on religious matters. I cannot accept a reli- 
gion from ancients of whose truth and veracity I know 
absolutely nothing, any more readily than I would accept 
a deed to the Niagara Falls from a modern, without 
question. But I do not care to argue with a person who 
would do so, and will not bother such persons' pet 
theories as long he dosen't clutter the path of progress 
with them. AVhen a man believes in and preaches the 
"divine right of kings to rule," to the actual hindrance 
of democracy, or the "fall of man" to the actual hindrance 
of "the rise of man," or "vicarious atonement" to the 
actual hindrance of individual and collective progress 
and evolution, I will do what I, can to disturb his right 
to believe and teach such things, simply because he is 
injuring his fellow man by such believing and teaching. 

I believe we must purify our religion and place it 
above our government. That we must even make our 
religion our constitution, as all governments are huge 
man-made gods with no heart or conscience, with only 
intelligence of a low selfish order, needing a religion 
to guide them, so they will not become monstrous devils 
with power to kill at will and spread disaster and 
mourning over an earth that should bring forth mostly 
happiness. 

This is why I drag religion into the following dis- 
cussion of what might commonly be called purely politi- 
cal and economic affairs. Religion is the foundation of 
human affairs. There is something the matter with our 
foundation. It is self-evident to everyone that our 



6 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

earthly affairs are in a bad shape. They could be worse, 
they could also be better. Let us try to make them 
better. 

I do not wish to injure any ones feelings, especially 
the feelings of honest, well meaning people. I wish 
to proceed in a constructive strain, breathing good-will 
and an honest intention to enlighten and consolidate 
humanity, instead of antogonizing and separating 
people. All I wish to do is separate people from 
religious and economic error, so the world will be 
better and happier. I will proceed to tell what I believe 
to be the truth. Judge for yourselves. 

In the following pages I have recorded a protest 
against "something for nothing," against people trying 
to get something of value without giving its just equi- 
valent in payment. 

Interest on money is the greatest "something for 
nothing" scheme on earth. It is refined, civilized slavery 
so subtle that the slaves do not suspicion it. Its victims 
are as proud of the badge of slavery as a dog with a brass 
collar bearing the name of his master. 

The wrongs that I am protesting against are thou- 
sands of years old. Interest on money, and false religion, 
especially, were fought by Aristotle, Plato, Plutarch, 
Cato, Cicero, Seneca, Guatama, Confucius, Jesus and 
hundreds of other great men before and since their time. 

We moderns must fight ,false religion because it 
crowds out and occupies a space in our minds that true 
religion should occupy. We must fight heathen religions, 
heathen Christianity included. 

Heathen Christianity is the vile and senseless ideas 
and customs woven around and injected into the teach- 
ings of Jesus of Nazareth, by Constantine and dishonest 
priests of old, and kept alive by priests of our day, by 
hypnotising and dwarfing the minds of children who 
never grow up mentally. There is more heathen Chris- 
tianity taught in modern times than there is Jesus of 
Nazareth Christianity. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 7 

There is more religious error and trash on earth 
today than there should be, and the only way to get rid 
of it is to expose it and not gloss it over as most of our 
writers do. 

Religious error causes most of our political and eco- 
nomic error. We must have a religious house cleaning. 
Hard times, strikes, poverty and wars can be abolished 
by a new religious movement. 

Interest on money is condemned by Leviticus chap. 
25, par. 36; Deuteronomy chap. 23, par. 19; Psalms chap. 
15, par. 5; Ezekiel chap. 18, par. 8 and 17; Luke also 
preaches against interest on money. Jesus drove the 
"money changers" out of the temple, but money chan- 
gers flourish today more than ever. The word "usury" 
in the Bible means "interest" and "profit." This word 
means, today, an entirely different thing; it means "too 
much" interest now. In reading the Bible remember 
that "usury" means "interest." 

Now in reading what I have to say, do not get the 
idea that I am laying all the blame on priests and money 
changers. They are not individually and entirely to 
blame. They are simply making the best of circum- 
stances over which they have but little control. It is 
the system that breeds them and the great common 
people of earth are responsible for the system. I am 
trying to show what is wrong and how to correct it. 
I realize that my writings are crude ; that I repeat very 
often ; that I quote the words of others often ; that there 
is not an idea or thought in the whole book that is new 
or original with me ; that most, if not all, that I write 
about, was written thousands of years ago. Many times 
I have flattered myself that I had a new thought and 
then accidentally discovered the same idea in nearly the 
same language, written by some Greek, Chinese or 
Hindoo, three thousand years before my time. 

So please consider that all I write, is what men said 
before I was born. I am simply helping to pass some of 
the truth theae men taught, on to you. If it aids you, 



8 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

give credit to my teachers, Plato, Confucius, Jesus and 
others. If it injures you, blame me for keeping alive 
the error of those men. 

I have no personal grievance, it is for others I write. 
I am above want and the fear of it. I can battle with 
present unjust economic conditions and succeed. I under- 
stand the system. So do not get the idea in your head 
that you would be doing me a favor by ''believing" 
the truth I am trying to tell you for your own benefit. 

It is really against my personal, selfish interest to 
abolish interest on money, as my main income is derived 
through interest on money. 

Why do I take interest if I know it to be morally 
wrong? For the same reason that I pay interest every 
time I purchase the necessities of life. Read what 1 
have to say in the following pages, "not to contradict or 
believe, but to weigh and consider." 

The world unrest is caused by wrong thought — 
everybody trying to get something for nothing, and 
only a few succeeding. The result is wars, crime waves, 
strikes, hard times, unmerited poverty and unemploy- 
ment. 

The proposed remedy is a new world-wide church 
movement, teaching economic as well as religious truth, 
crystalizing, edttcating and enforcing public opinion. 
An intelligent church influence is the hope of civilization. 

F. J. EDDY, 
Van Nuys, Cal. 

Jan. 1922 



SOMETHING FOR NOTHING 

The something for nothing idea is what causes all, 
or most all, of our main troubles. 

The something for nothing idea is started by Chris- 
tianity, hyi the "vicarious atonement" idea, the idea 
that we can sin and some one else can and will suffer 
for us, and that we gain the great prize of heaven while 
Jesus pays the great price. We are getting something 
for nothing, something that we did not work for and 
honestly earn. It causes Christian thought to get lazy, 
indolent and stagnant and sentimentally criminal ; for 
it is criminal to expect something for nothing. If you 
expect love give love, if you expect money give money 
or its equivalent, if you expect heaven for yourself from 
Jesus or through Jesus or anyone else above you, then 
give heaven to those below you. Give as much heaven 
as you expect and suffer as much for those below you as 
Jesus suffered for you. If you expect Jesus to 'be 
actually nailed to a real wooden cross with real iron 
nails, with real hot, red blood running down his body, 
or, if you expect to take a benefit from such an actuality, 
I say if you expect this of Jesus and are willing to accept 
it as your ticket to heaven, then you are dishonest and 
selfish if you are not willing to suffer the same actual 
torture for those below you. If you are not willing to have 
actual iron nails driven into your quivering flesh and 
actual hot blood dripping from your body for "the least 
of these your brethren," then you are a fraud ; you are 
trying to get and are willing to accept, something for 
nothing, which is dishonest. 

The something for nothing worm has eaten holes 
all through our business philosophy ; it has fairly honey- 
combed our business methods and practices. The banker 
tries to get and control all the money he can and then 
lend it and collect all the interest he can, regardless of 
the welfare of the borrower. The merchant buys as 



10 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

cheap as he can and sells for all he can get out of the 
consumer, taking advantage of the consumer's necessity. 
If the buyer can purchase for one cent a peck and sell 
for one dollar a peck, when one cent a peck will 
pay him for his services and expenses, clearing 98 cents 
per peck as ''profit," he is considered a fine business man, 
and a good Christian, and what is worse, no one can 
see any wrong in the transaction. Everybody admires 
the merchant's foresight in buying, his buisness ability 
in general, and considers him a "smart" man, envying 
him and wishing they had opportunity to do the same 
thing., Here is the deplorable part about it. Religion 
and business have dulled their moral perception to such 
an extent that they not only see no wrong in it, but 
approve of it, and are dreaming and hoping that some 
day they will be able to do the same. Now if we were 
all able to do this, where would we land? Why, we 
would land in the middle of a perfect economic system, 
as things would be evened up. I would steal 98 cents a 
peck of you and then you could steal 98 cents a peck 
from me and we would be even. But the trouble is, that 
it is only a few that get away with it. The great majority 
never get the chance to do any stealing in business and 
be honored for it; and be looked up to as being "smart." 
But the great majority are just as unconsciously dis- 
honest as the few, they are patiently waiting for a chance 
to do it. 

One person says : Admitting this to be true, what 
is your remedy? The reply is: Correct, honest, "do- 
as-you-wish-to-be-done-by," thought. I am working on 
the remedy right now. I am trying to get people to see 
that there is something wrong, and what that something 
is. This is the first step. The second step is to correct 
the wrong and there is only one way to do a thing and 
that is, to get in and do it. Like Roosevelt built the 
Panama Canal, which could not be built because the 
country through which it was to be built would not allow 
it, etc., etc. Roosevelt went to work and made a country 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 11 

that would allow it. The right and proper thing can al- 
ways be done if men will to do it. But they must first see 
the necessity of it. My business is mainly to help show 
the necessity of building a new economic system. 

Now the gambler and the hold up man has the some- 
thing-for-nothing idea to some extent, only not so bad 
as the Christian and the business man, because the gam- 
bler risks his money and the hold-up-man risks his life 
trying to get something for nothing while the Christian 
risks nothing to get into heaven, all he has to do is lay 
his load of sins on another's back and just drift into 
heaven on the stream of love and blood pouring from the 
heart of the murdered Jesus. While the successful 
business man does not risk much either, when he is 
"smart" and lucky enough to buy for one cent and sell 
for one dollar. The cautious intelligent business man 
understands our economic system to perfection and 
rarely takes any risk worth speaking of as compared 
to the gambler and the hold-up-man. Of course the 
smarter the business man and the more money he already 
has, the less risk he takes. The really big business men 
have a "cinch" — a "graft." They nearly always make 
it pay, while the gambler and hold-up-man never makes 
it pay. They just live in hopes that it will pay some 
time. But, alas, that time never comes, never will come, 
because they, as well as the Christian and the business 
man, are selling their souls for a mess of pottage. They 
are all trying to get something for nothing. The Chris- 
tian wants salvation for nothing but his "belief." He 
refuses to have nails driven in his body and real thorns 
jammed into his brow so that he may thereby purchase 
an eternal home of happiness in heaven. "Belief" is an 
easy — very easy — thing to give, while being nailed to 
a cross is a very hard thing to give. He is trying to 
get something of more value to him than a universe of 
worlds, and for what? Just "belief" in an ancient fairy 
tale, dream at best. The Christian starts this dishonest 
idea of greed and graft. He is trying to get something 



12 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

for nothing. And the reason why I dwell so much on 
the Christian is because he sets a bad example to the 
gambler and the hold-up gun-man as well as the business 
man. 

Purified Christianity will teach salvation by no other 
means than hard work, study, thought, and purified, 
desires. This, and this only, is what Jesus of Nazareth 
taught. 

Another class of people who make a pretty good 
living out of the something for nothing idea is the real 
estate men. While they give value received occasional- 
ly, they should not be blamed too much for breaking the 
long established and universally accepted rule of "do 
your best to get something for nothing." They will 
often introduce you to some one and then send you a 
bill for two or three thousand dollars "commission," and 
if you know what is good for you, you will pay the com- 
mission bill the "minit" you receive it. Some think the 
real estate men are as greedy and grasping as bankers, 
but I am certain they are not, because if they were 
they would be bankers themselves. They make a 
pretense of giving you something fof your money. You 
can't deny that you received the "introduction." 

But the biggest get — somthing — for — nothing scheme 
that mortal man has ever invented, the emperor of all 
grafts, is "interest on money." It is a sponge that 
subtly absorbs the great common people's surplus above 
a 'very common living, and gives it to the "money 
changers" of earth as their legal own, without the "money 
changers" rendering a just equivalent for said surplus. 

It works so mysteriously and so presistently that its 
victims never suspicion but what it is morally honorable. 

Interest on money is the crime of the ages. No in- 
terest on money should ever be expected or taken by 
any one other then the government, as compensation to 
cover the actual cost of printing or coining and cir- 
culating money. Unless our government should deem 
it wise and best to use interest on money, as the main 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 13 

source of raising revenue with which to maintain govern- 
ment; as it would be a simple and effective way of col- 
lecting taxes without employing a horde of tax gatherers. 
The burden of taxation through this method would fall, 
ultimately, on the consumer, as it should. The consumer 
should pay according as he enjoys. If he uses a penny 
pencil to write an article showing the dishonesty of our 
present system, he should not pay as much tax as the 
man who uses a fountain pen to apologize for and uphold 
the "money changers" that succeeded the ones Jesus 
drove from the temple. 

To illustrate the power of interest on money to rob 
the people we will take one dollar and let it out at com 
pound interest for eight years at ten per cent, or fifteen 
years at five per cent, and it will double itself. Now you 
may let the one dollar represent all the money in the 
world and what do you have? A pretty bad state of 
affairs for any one but a ''frenzied financier" to comtem- 
plate. 

All the money in the world, let out at compound 
interest at five per cent., would double itself in about 
fifteen years, and in practice there is no other kind of 
interest but compound interest ; or worse yet, as it is the 
practice of money lenders to draw their interest every 
three or six months and immediately let the interest out 
on interest with the exception of what they might choose 
to reserve for current expenses. And all the money in 
the world at ten per cent, compound interest will double 
itself inside of eight years. 

Now suppose the money changers loaned all the 
money in the world to the common people just eight 
years at ten per cent, compound interest. At the end of 
eight years it will take all the money in the world to pay 
the interest on all the money in the world, so where are 
the people going to get the money to pay the principal 
which also amounts to all the money in the world? 

Just take your time to answer. Take eight years 
if you like and in the mean time the original unpaid 



14 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

principal will be doubling itself by means of interest on 
money, while the money) changers must necessarily loan 
back to the people the "all the money in the world" 
just paid to the money changers as interest on the origi- 
nal "all the money in the world" which now, at the be- 
ginning of the second eight years becomes a new or 
second principal loaned back to the people, because the 
people must have money to do business on. 

Now at the end of the second eight years what do 
we find? simply this. The people owe the money 
changers twice all the money in the world as principal 
and twice all the money in the world as interest after 
having paid at end of the first eight years, all the money 
in the world to the money changers as interest. 

In other words, at the end of sixteen years the people 
owe the money changers four times "all the money in 
the world" with only once "all the money in the world" 
with which to pay the debt after having paid the money 
changers once "all the money in the world," eight years 
before. In sixteen years the people must pay the money 
changers five times all the money in the world. How 
can they do it? 

It just cannot be done, and in actuality it never is 
done. The principal is paid in money and the interest 
is paid in products. 

How money does increase ! In sixteen years it has 
increased from once "all money in the world" to five 
or six times all the money in the world, without really 
increasing one dollar. The theory that money increases, 
that money "works," is a false theory and must be 
discarded. 

Some may say that I am unreasonable in placing 
interest rate so high, and, just to be accomodating, I 
will reduce the interest rate one half, although many, 
many people pay ten per cent, and even more. 

Now at five per cent compound interest, "all the 
money in the world" will be paid to the money changers 
of the world, five times possibly six times, inside of 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 15 

thirty years. One of the times a payment is made, 
the payment is discharging a just debt, the first 
principal. The other four or five payments of 
"all the money in the world," are payments of in- 
terest on money by the common people of earth to the 
"money changers," which is mostly dishonest graft on 
the part of the money changers and tribute paid by the 
people. 

These four payments are not actually made in money, 
as I have shown, they could not be. It would be a 
physical impossibility. The only payment that is made 
in money is return of the principal. 

The money changers of earth use "interest on money" 
as a civilized means of getting "something for nothing." 
Just divide thirty years by four and you have seven and 
one half. Theoretically every seven and one half to 
ten years the common people of the earth pay the 
"money changers" of earth all the money of earth as 
returned borrowed principal together with products 
equal in value to all the money of earth as 'interest" 
on all the money of earth. 

My critics will say that I am just jumbling facts. 
That I am just juggling with a fool theory. I admit 
that I am just working on a "fool theory," but it is the 
"money changers" own theory. It is their theory that 
money increases of itself. That money "works." That 
money "grows" and will double itself in a certain number 
of years. It is their theory that "interest on money" 
is proper, is honorable and right. I have taken the 
money changers "fool theory" and used reason to show 
it up as a "fool theory." 

No one can deny that if all the money in the world 
is placed on interest for a term of years, that the interest 
will equal the principal in time and that when that time 
arrived either the interest or principal would necessarily 
have to remain unpaid if payment had to be made in 
cash. This proves that money does not increase, grow 
or work. 



16 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

Do you see what helps to make hard times every 
seven to ten years? 

Every seven to ten years the ''money changers" of 
earth gather in all the money of earth as well as all the 
surplus products of earth. The men and women who 
did all the producing have neither money or products. 
They must freeze, starve, wear rags and exist some- 
how while those who produced nothing, fairly wallow 
in plenty and luxury. 

The "money changers" and their servile apologists 
call it "over-production," "lack of foreign trade," and 
blame the tariff, the Democrats, or just anything, to fool 
the people while we are going through these periodical 
"hard times." The "money changers" used to take our 
hide off by jerks and when we cried out and danced 
around in pain they called it a "panic." The Federal 
Banking Act has help to civilize the skinning process 
somewhat, but does not lessen the amount of hide we 
give up to the "money changers" every so often. 

Now when the "money changers" get all tne money 
and all the surplus products, they do not care to lend 
money to producers to start production again until they 
are rid of their surplus that interest on money has 
accumulated for them. They have more of everything 
than the;/ can consume and naturally wish to sell the 
surplus before allowing more to be produced and held 
by themselves. And in the mean time the men who did 
the producing must merely exist, because they have 
but little money with which to buy back from the 
"money changers" the products they themselves pro- 
duced but which "money changers" unjustly acquired 
through "interest on money." 

This is the main reason why we have hard times 
regularly. There are other causes, but I will not men- 
tion them here. If a person knows the general average 
rate of interest, the date of the ending of the last "hard 
times," he can figure out just about when the next hard 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 17 

times will strike the producers, by making due allowance 
for a few other things. 

The time in question will be when interest on money- 
gathers up all the money again; or in other words, 
when money through interest theoretically doubles it- 
self again, and the interest or principal must be paid in 
products. Interest is a great sponge that soaks up all 
the money in the country every seven to ten years. The 
money changers own the sponge and wring it out by 
means of '"loans" and then let it soak the money back 
again in due time. When the money changers begin to 
wring the sponge, times begin to get "good," and when 
the sponge is drawing up the last money, times are the 
hardest for the common people, producer and consumer 
alike ; neither has money with which to transact business. 
But the "money changer" never has "hard times" unless 
it is when everybody else has the best of "times" and 
prices are high, and the "money changers" dollar will 
buy only one half what it will when times are hard for 
the producer. "Hard times" for producers are **good 
times for "money changers." Their dollars are worth 
twice as much then. 

Some may say: "You are wrong; when times are 
hard the farmers have to hoard their grain, and the 
graineries filled to capacity during hard times belong 
to the producers, the farmers," This is a fact in theory 
only. It is a technical fact, not a real one because 
every sack of grain owned by the average farmer is 
mortgaged to the "money changers" for all it will sell 
for, after expenses are paid. The "money changers" 
not only own the grain through mortgage but have 
mortgages on the farmers' ranches also, for all they are 
worth in hard times, as well as at other times. 

I wish to emphasize and make plain that interest 
on money is a million-headed man-made monster that 
covers the earth with its slimy carcass and thrusts its 
snake-like tentacles into the pocket book of every widow, 
every orphan, every cripple, every invalid as well as 



18 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

into all the pocket books of all the common people of 
earth ;silently and subtly stealing from one twentieth to 
one half of the contents of all such pocket books. If I do 
not succeed in doing- this, it will be because I lack the 
ability, and it will still be a fact just the same. 

How many homes in the United States are not mort- 
gaged? How many business firms do not pay heavy 
interest? How many newspapers in this "land of the 
free and home of the brave" dare publish what I write? 
Most publishers are heavy money borrowers and should 
they print something reflecting on their masters, the 
money lenders, they would be put out of business rather 
unceremoniously. This is why you will see nothing"in 
the papers" about interest on money being dishonest. 

World unrest and crime waves are blind, unintelli- 
gent, desperate protests against previous, as well as 
present injustice. These protests are effects. You will 
never learn the causes by listening to the average 
preacher, banker, politician or editor. They do not know 
and would not tell if they did know. They'd lose their 
jobs if they told. 

You must quit thinking other peoples thoughts if 
you really wish to know what causes wars, crime waves, 
hard times etc., and how to stop them. 

If Christianity is a failure you should know it. If it 
is not a failure you should find out what it is and follow 
it. 



GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP OF MONEY 

Money has been rightfully named the ''life blood of 
a nation." Without money, civilization cannot exist; 
diversified and specialized labor cannot be carried on. 
Does any one deny this? 

Now if money is the life blood of a nation the general 
welfare of any nation will depend a great deal upon 
the condition of its life blood. There must be some 
certain amount or volume of money necessary to 
produce a healthy business state of affairs in a nation. 
There must be some best system of keeping the nation's 
life blood circulating properly, so as to avoid business 
stagnation. The more and faster money circulates the 
livelier business is. 

Now if money is the life blood of a nation who 
should own and control it? Should private citizens own 
and control the nation's life blood, or should the nation 
itself own and control its own life blood? 

The ''frenzied financiers" of this country will no 
doubt disagree with me, but I am one who believes that 
our nation should own and control its own life blood. 
I believe it dangerous and harmful to allow private 
citizens who are responsible to no one for their financial 
acts, to own most of, and control all of our nation's 
life blood, our medium of exchange ; the thing that our 
business life and death depends on; and the condition 
of which, can make business good or bad — good for 
the few and bad for the many. It seems certain to me 
that this power over the nation's life blood should be 
vested in government, entirely exempt from any con- 
trol whatever of a less number of private citizens than 
a majority. 

There must be some approximately correct rules and 
methods that should be strictly followed in order to 
bring about the best general favorable results; the 
greatest good to the greatest number. 



20 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE r 

Now would it not be better for the general welfare 
of our people to take the ownership and control of our 
nation's life blood out of the hands of private citizens 
entirely and place said ownership and control in the 
hands of a special non-political, but financially scientific, 
department of our general government, where finances 
can be studied, and methods conservatively improved 
from time to time as experience and progress shows the 
necessity and advisability? Run like our postal system 
is; for the good of all our people, keeping in close touch 
with the business world and aiding in all ways possible, 
issuing instructions that will lessen the frequency and 
period of ''hard times," if not do away with them alto- 
gether. 

I am certain that hard times are unneccessary and 
can be abolished by our government owning and con- 
trolling our nation's life blood. 

This taking over and controlling our medium of 
exchange need not be any sudden or rash act. jlt can 
all be accomplished in a gradual manner so as not to 
disturb or harmfully affect current business at all, when 
it is once decided to be the proper thing to do. I do 
not believe in confiscating or condemning anything. We 
should buy and pay for whatever is necessary to make 
the change from private citizens control to government 
control of our nation's life blood. 

The question of whether it is desirable to make the 
change should be decided before going into details of 
how to make it . It is a very easy matter to do, if a 
majority of our people think it best. 

It is purely a question of whether the tremendously 
important control of our nation's life blood should remain 
in the hands of selfish, grasping, irresponsible private 
citizens who are continually scheming against the public 
good and for their own private good, or should be placed 
in the hands of a government department whose sole 
object is to serve the public, and to that end study and 
systematize and scientifically superintend and watch 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 21 

over our finances so as to keep our business in the best 
of health at all times. 

Of course some bankers will oppose this. They will 
not be able to dig up or' invent language strong enough 
to condemn the suggestion. Their contention will be 
that our government is not honest enough and does 
not know enough to run banking business. But I will 
meet that argument by suggesting that our government 
just hire these same bankers who are so honest and 
smart, to work for the government at a good salary and 
run the government banks for us. This would be much 
better than for our government to have a big banking 
business on its hands and no honest or competent men 
to run it. 

The question to be decided is this : Which is best, 
the government. to own and control its own life blood 
or a few bankers own and control it? 

Now there is bound to be two answers to this question 
The bankers will say that it is best for the bankers to 
own and control the nations life blood. And I agree 
with them. That is, I believe that it is best for the 
bankers. 

On the other hand I also believe that it would be 
best for the business men and farmers of the nation to 
have our government take over and run its own life 
blood. Line up people. Take sides with the bankers, or 
take sides with yourselves. Of course a lot of you will 
side with the bankers because you are hoping to be 
bankers some day. 



HARD TIMES 

Why do we have ''hard times" every few years in 
America? Hard times means unemployment, lack of 
business, a lot of suffering, inharmony and disorder. 

The only inharmony in the universe that I know of, 
outside of a little made by vicious lower animals, is the 
inharmony made by foolish, greedy men and women. 

This is a beautiful v/orld, lovely place to live, and 
the only reason we are not always prosperous and happy 
is because we are continually trying to go contrary to 
the laws of nature ; getting out of harmony with truth 
and justice. 

Hard times come and go every few years like clock 
work. Many people know the causes and profit by 
them, while millions of our hard working citizens do not 
suspicion the causes and lose heavily of their hard earned 
products, by these unnecessary, periodical "hard times." 

These seasons of depression are always preceded by 
seasons of activity and speculation ; the depressions be- 
ing looked upon as the reaction from the speculation. 

The abstract cause of hard times is an unjust econo- 
mic system. A system that is absolutely and positively 
contrary to the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth, and should 
be studied, understood and denounced by every true 
follower of Jesus. The time is ripe for the churches of 
our land to compel the politicians to incorporate into 
our economic system the teachings of Jesus. 

Now coming down to the concrete, the main cause 
of hard times is the lack of ready money to transact 
business, to plant and cultivate, to harvest, move and 
sell crops and other labor products, yes and to buy 
crops and other labor products. A lack of money felt 
by the producer and consumer alike. Why is this? 
There are a hundred surface-reasoning answers to this 
and every one of them wrong, yea, worse than wrong; 
it is a crime for sleek well-fed men to sit back in their 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 23 

easy chairs in finely furnished offices and utter them, 
through ignorance or cupidity, while thousands of in- 
dustrious men and women with their little ragged fami- 
lies try to make a decent living and merely exist during 
"hard times." 

The cause of hard times and panics is the misuse of 
money. Using it to speculate on,using it to get something 
for nothing. Using it to gamble on and to graft with. 
Using it in a manner and for purposes for which it 
should not be used. Using it as a legal jimmy to pry 
unearned supplies out of other peoples' storehouses. 
Using it for other purposes than a medium of exchange 
of products, a separate book-keeping account between 
the individual and society in general. Money should 
be owned by the government and use by its citizens 
only to exchange products, brain labor, manual labor 
and that which is produced by either or both. The 
citizens should pay the government the actual cost of 
the service, which would be small. 

The widow taking in washing to feed and cloth her 
children must pay a tribute of one tenth, often more, 
of her hard earned money to well dressed idlers lounging 
in luxury who have a legal, subtle means of compelling 
her to do so ; compelling her to give to them a good 
portion of what she produces, for which she gets no 
equivalent in exchange. How do they do it? 

A greater part of our business is run principally on 
borrowed money on which interest is paid ultimately 
by the consumer. The widow being a consumer pays 
interest when she buys from the grocer. The grocer 
acts as tax collector for the well dressed modern "money 
changers," followers of Jesus — the red blooded man who 
drove the "money changers" out of the temple ; men who 
live off of interest on money. They are supported by all 
who work and produce, without working or producing 
anything themselves. Undei^ our present economic sys- 
tem this is legal and highly honorable. Under a correct 
system this would be robbery. Don't blame the indivi- 



24 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

duals. It is the system that is at fault and not one 
person in a dozen knows it, or seems to care. 

This question of interest on money is one of the 
great economic evils to be corrected, and one of the 
hardest to correct on account of the false idea having 
gained such a hold on the minds of men for the last 
two or three thousand years ; one that causes the people 
who produce, to lose billions of dollars annually to the 
people who do not produce ; one of the hardest to correct 
because of the fact that we must fight the arrogance of 
false learning, must come out in the open while glutted 
greed and graft skulking behind the forest of age old 
customs, hurling bombs of sarcasm, ridicule and cunning 
sophistry at common people, with the constant sneer 
that they are not brainy enough to grasp financial ques- 
tions and that they seek to destroy civilization. The 
champions of our present "frenzied finance" dare not 
come out in the open and talk plain reason, justice and 
the rights of men. Their battle cry will be the rights 
of dollars, the rights of property. They forget that 
man was made by God and that dollars were made by 
men, to be their servants, not their masters. They ignore 
the fact that dollars are lifeless inert matter. That 
men, not dollars, sweat, till the soil and produce ; that 
men should use dollars as tools, as they use the plow, 
the freight car, the auto, as tools only. They will re- 
peat catchy phrases such as ''let your dollars work for 
you while you sleep," which will command the attention 
of the ears of the ignorant and lull them into beautiful 
dreams, while our present vampire financial system sucks 
their lifeblood. Remember, morally speaking, if your 
dollars work for you while you are asleep, your dollars 
are burglars, snooping around your neighbors hen roost, 
stealing from your neighbor while you are asleep so 
that you may enjoy when awake. 

Dollars are like fire, a fine servant of man properly 
handled, but a very demon when beyond his control. 
Dollars at present are beyond the control of the great 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 25 

common people. They are under the control of irre- 
sponsible individuals — that is, individuals v^ho do not 
have to report to the people regarding their conduct. 
To explain my^ meaning somewhat clearer I will draw 
your attention to a litttle of our most recent financial 
history here in the greatest country on earth, where 
every voter is a sovereign ! Where the people rule ! 

You all, no doubt, remember during the last days of 
the reign of Woodrow Wilson, he had much to say 
about the high cost of living and seemed to have done 
all in his power to try and bring it down. Congress 
also took a hand in the talk game but backed off whipped. 
It was plainly demonstrated that the great American 
Government was powerless to do anything for the great 
common people of America, the common people that Mr. 
Lincoln, said God must love because He made so many 
of them. But something was done a few months after the 
government quit trying, and by whom was it done ? By a 
few men disconnected from our government; men who 
are not elected by the people and are not responsible 
to the people for their financial acts, but men who had 
the power to bring down prices with leaps and bounds 
and men who actually did do it; did something that our 
great government did not seem able to do. How did 
they do it? Well I'll tell you, I must first explain a 
few things. I do not wish to give out the wrong impres- 
sion. I do not wish any one to misconstrue my meaning. 
I am trying to do good and I do not wish to do more 
harm than good in my attempt. I am not blaming the 
individual; I am blaming the system under which all 
individuals must act and none but the majority can 
change. 

The heads of our financial system, acting within 
their rights as we at present understand those rights, 
sent a circular broadcast to all, or at least a majority of 
the banks of our nation to "call in loans." Why? They 
knew why and that is quite sufficient. I, also, know, 
but that doesn't matter or in fact is another story. The 



26 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

point I am trying to make plain is that a few private 
individuals have powers that should remain in the hands 
of majorities only; in governments representing ma- 
jorities. When the various banks throughout our coun- 
try received this notice they followed its command or 
advice and began to "call in loans." This meant that 
merchants must get money from some other source 
than banks, as all banks were in the ''calling" instead of 
"loaning" business. The only way they could do it was 
to sell goods quick, at reduced prices of course. Easy 
wasn't it, when the right men got on the job? Impos- 
sible for Congress representing the i people but easy for 
a few bankers representing themselves. 

Financial and economic affairs are not too intricate 
for the average mind and until the average mind studies 
such questions we will have the same discord and un- 
happy conditions. The same short "good times" and 
the same long "hard times" with strikes, lockouts, un- 
employment, misery, soup kitchens and bread lines we 
have had in the past, with all kinds of charity and 
paliative measures to relieve the situation every so often. 
This is week-day Christianity. 

What we need is a nearer approach to exact justice 
and there will be no more man-made hard times. All 
the hard times I have experienced in my life grew out 
of an unjust economic system and not from natural 
causes, such as general lack of crop. Every hard times 
I have gone through was caused by too much of every- 
thing, therefore the ones who produced it must starve 
and freeze. Seems strange, but pure logic, if our present 
economic system is a correct premise. 



GALLEY SLAVES 

Remember, interest on money is never really paid 
in money. It is always paid in labor, in service, in 
produce, in sweat, in time, in slavery. 

God Almighty made time ; days, nights and years. 
Men made money ; nickles, dimes and dollars. Scheming, 
brutal, dishonest men trade their man-made, cheap, 
article for your God made, valuable article, Time, by 
means of interest on money. They cheat you, they 
enslave you and you honor them for.it. 

Dollars are man made, dead, lifeless, and cannot re- 
produce themselves. Grains of wheat are God made and 
can, and do reproduce themselves. People ! quit trading 
your precious God made articles for shoddy man made 
goods. 

God made bright sunny days for men to enjoy — all 
men to enjoy. He also made rainy days for their benefit, 
to teach them lessons, as men learn by experience. 

Now God evidently intended that each man, woman 
and child should have his or her proper allotment of 
sunny days as well as rainy days so as to round out and 
balance their characters, and make wiser, happier men 
and women of them. But now comes along a few hypo- 
critical, shallow brained, lazy and dishonest men and 
invent "interest on money" which aids them to steal 
your happy sun shiny days from you and then you will 
have all rainy, worry-work-and-strive days while the in- 
venters and users of interest on money have all bright 
sunny days throughout their lives. 

In olden times the people's masters chained them 
to oars of war boats, pleasure boats, and boats of com- 
merce. The people's rulers made galley slaves out of 
them. 

To-day the people's mental masters chain them to 
the oars of their "mortgage" boats, their "bond" boats 
and their "loan" boats. All working people are chained 



28 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

to these boats before they are born, yes, even before 
their parents have been born, their bodies are doomed 
to furnish the meat that is to be ground up to make hot 
dog sandwiches for the "money changers." While they 
are out playing golf, you are hoeing potatoes so they 
may eat, and all you get for your work is "credit" for 
so much interest paid on loan, bond or mortgage. While 
they are riding in their fancy autos, wearing nice warm 
clothes you are down in the wet, chilly, dangerous 
mines digging the coal and iron to make the autos, or 
you are herding and shearing the sheep, in order to get 
the wool to make the warm clothes. And what do you 
get for it? A miserable living and credit for so much 
interest paid. Where have your bright sunny days 
gone? Who got them? Wake up, you galley slaves! 
Do you want to be free? It is an easy matter: vote 
intelligently when you get a chance. You are going 
to have that chance before long. God pities you and 
will give you a chance to save yourselves. 

When a man charges you interest on money, he sells 
you Time. It would be just as proper to sell sunshine 
or air. 

A money changer hands you one dollar; in one mo- 
ment you hand it back to him; no interest is charged 
of course, why? 

And again: A money changer hands you one dollar; 
in ten years you hand it back to him with one dollar 
interest; why? 

Simply because the money changer has sold you 
ten years of God's Time. You do not look at it that 
way? Of course you do not. You look at it the way 
the "money changer" and your "get something for 
nothing religion" has taught you to look at it, and you 
will die in poverty looking at it that way rather than 
look at it right and change the world from misery to 
happiness. I do not expect to change your thoughts on 
the subject. But that does not worry me. My business 
is to tell you and I am trying to do it. This will dis- 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 29 

charge my obligation to you. If you ever want the 
system changed I will be glad to help you all I can. 

But before the system can be changed we must 
change our religion. Our present religion has generated 
and scattererd thought that has produced our present 
deplorable earth conditions. 

Before the world can go forward it must adopt a 
universal, world religion that does not deal in man- 
made gods. We must have a world religion that tries 
to see, study and know God by studying and knowing 
man and nature. We need a broad intelligent religion 
that will build moral character, the greatest and best 
thing a person can possess, which can be developed only 
by a true religion taught in homes, schools, libraries, 
theatres, churches and in every day business dealings. 
We need a religion that teaches a broad intelligent day- 
light free and inspiring belief in a Creator, to take the 
place of a religion that teaches us a dark, superstitious 
belief in a man-made god who says: "Believe or be 
damned," "depart into everlasting punishment," "He 
who denies me before man, him I will deny in heaven." 

Instead of a religion that teaches us to be selfish 
thinking of ourselves and our being saved, we need a 
religion that inspires unselfishness, idealism, while re- 
cognizing a Supreme Intelligence, unknown and un- 
knowable in so far as mortal man is concerned, teaching 
the Fatherhood, Brotherhood, a soul and future life with 
the Golden Rule. This is the religion that Jesus taught 
but his misguided followers of today add stories of 
ancient murder, immorality and imbecility to the greatest 
religion on earth until it becomes one of the very worst 
religions on earth, worshiping a mythical man-made god, 
an impossible half-breed ; a half man, half god, weakling. 



FIAT MONEY 

Not long ago I noticed a popular writer of Chicago, 
takes Mr. Ford and Mr. Edison to task for advocating 
fiat money. 

It is my opinion that if this writer knew as much 
in a day as the other two gentlemen have proved to the 
world that they know" in a minute, this writer would 
not have written what he did. 

While I am not an advocate of fiat money under our 
present economic system, there is no question but what 
fiat money, the ideal scientific money, would be the 
proper thing under an ideal scientific economic system, 
but we should have the ideal economic system first, and 
there is no question in my mind but what Mr. Ford and 
Mr. Edison had this in mind when advocating fiat money. 

It would be and always has been financial suicide, as 
this writer points out, to enthrone fiat money in a 
country run by greedy bankers and hungry politicians, 
and what country is not run by such a gang? 

You could not come any nearer making fiat money 
a success in any government of today than you could in 
making a success of the chicken business by getting a lot 
of cayotes to guard your chickens. 

The cayotes would find a way to make the chicken 
business unprofitable for you. Under our present econo- 
mic system the heartless greedy "money changers" 
would find a way to make fiat money a failure as they 
always have in the past, with the help of dishonest 
politicians, as this writer so plainly points out. 

The difference between this writer and the other 
two gentleman is this : he either does not see the in- 
justice and dishonesty of our present economic system, 
or he is not brave enough to take a stand for the people 
against their despoilers, but prefers to act as an apolo- 
gist for the "money changers;" while the other two 
gentlemen see the wrongs the common people are suf- 
fering from and are trying to help correct them. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 31 

This writer remarks: "But a silver or gold dollar 
will do the work. A gold or silver dollar has value. A 
paper dollar of itself has not — unless it is redeemable 
at a bank or mint for gold or silver." 

Now such hypocritical reasoning has been repeated 
and exposed so many times in the last forty years in this 
country that I should think a high school boy would 
know better than to try and use it as mental dust to 
throw in the eyes of the people. 

Now this writer should know by actual daily ex- 
perience in purchasing supplies to live on, that no dollar 
whether gold, silver or paper, is practically worth any^ 
thing until it is ''redeemed" by things to eat, wear and 
enjoy. What good is your gold dollar if you cannot 
trade it for something to eat, clothes, etc.? 

This writer says : ''One might as well try to measure 
calico by the peck and wheat by the yard as to measure 
the value and price of calico or wheat with a strip of 
paper that has no value of its own." 

It is surprising to me that a man in this day and age 
can get such words published and get paid for it too. 

It is not the "value" of the strip of paper or the 
metal disk that records the value of calico or wheat any 
more than it is the "value" of the yard rule itself that 
measures the amount of calico. A wooden rule will 
measure the calico as well as a gold or silver rule. 

The dollar does not establish the value of the wheat 
it merely records the value and a paper dollar will do 
it as well as a gold dollar. The "value" of the wheat 
or calico is established by numerous other circumstan- 
ces. You may pay a gold dollar or a paper dollar for a 
bushel of wheat to-day and to-morrow a profiteer may 
buy up all the wheat and charge you two gold dollars 
or two paper dollars for a bushel of wheat. What power 
has a gold dollar to set the price? Of course under a 
fiat money system where they print money like news- 
papers and scatter it as generally without regard to 
the volume of business transacted, by an irresponsible 



32 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

government, it might take ten paper dollars or even 
more to buy what one gold dollar would buy. In this 
case the gold dollar would not establish the value. 
Neither would the paper dollars establish the value. 

Gold is an ideal money under a barbaric, heathenish 
economic system and I do not know of any other kind 
of economic system on earth to-day, therefore I am un- 
qualifiedly in favor of the gold standard until we change 
our system to a civilized, Jesus of Nazareth system, and 
then bring on your fiat money and I will welcome it. 

Mr. Ford and Mr. Edison, you are dead wrong to 
advocate fiat money without changing our system and 
killing interest on money. Mr. critic you are correct 
in advocating a barbaric money for a barbaric people 
and barbaric goverment upheld by barbaric writers. 

The dollar should not establish the price or value of 
anything, it should merely compute or record the value. 
A dollar should be, or represent, a unit of credit. A 
dollar should not be allowed to "measure" value, as the 
term is used at present. The value or price should be 
named or set by supply and demand, or by the labor 
required to produce and deliver and by various other 
circumstances. Money should have nothing to do with 
establishing value or price. 

Under our present system the supply of money has 
a large effect on price which is radically wrong. As 
money is scarce or plentiful, prices rise or fall. Under 
a correct economic system money would always be 
plentiful, never scarce for those who had something of 
value to exchange and would not affect price at all. 

In economics the word value signifies ratio. It means 
the ratio in which one article exchanges for another. 
Money should keep books only. 

"Let us imagine a transaction in the ordinary busi- 
ness of comerce. Suppose a merchant has sold $10,000 
worth of goods to one of his customers on the basis of 
thirty days credit. The customer gives his note at 
thirty days in payment. The merchant discounts this 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 33 

note at the bank in order to obtain funds for the pay- 
ment of ordinary current expenses in the way of wages, 
and so forth. He asks the bank for cash instead of 
deposit credit. In order to obtain the cash, the bank 
rediscounts the note with the Federal Reserve bank of 
the district and obtains Federal Reserve Notes, which 
are paid over to the merchant. The note, upon which 
the loan is based, is now in the hands of the reserve 
agent of the Federal Reserve bank. The Federal Re- 
serve notes are in general circulation during the thirty 
days, which is the length of the credit period ; the notes 
are continually passing from hand to hand. The customer 
however, is gradually selling the goods, receiving in 
payment, we may suppose, Federal Reserve notes, which 
he deposits with his bank." 

" At the end of thirty days, when the note is mature, 
the reserve agent calls upon the bank which indorsed 
the note to repay the loan. Usually, the Federal Reserve 
bank will send the note to the member bank for collec- 
tion. The member bank, thereupon, sends the note to 
the man who signed it originally, that is, the customer 
who has been selling the goods during the preceding 
thirty days. He pays the amount by drawing upon the 
money he has deposited in his bank. This money is 
represented, we may assume, by the Federal Reserve 
notes collected in payment for the goods. In turn these 
notes are handed to the bank, which turns them over to 
the Federal Reserve bank. The Reserve bank, therefore, 
has received back the notes which it issued on the secu- 
rity of the commercial paper, and this, being paid, is 
now cancelled. At the same time, the Reserve notes are 
also retired from circulation." 

"To sum up the whole transaction, therefore, we may 
say that the sale of the $10,000 worth of goods gave rise 
to the provision of the amount of currency necessary to 
finance the operation. As soon as the sale is consumated, 
the goods in the hands of the ultimate consumers, and 



34 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

the payment received, the currency which was issued is 
cancelled." — Graham Laing. 

The above illustrates scientific money very well. 
We have it at present, but allow the money changers to 
use it so as to bleed the people. All we need to do is 
take the knife (interest on money) away from the money 
changers and the bleeding will promptly end. 

The great majority of people take our present state 
of society for granted, as being necessary. They never 
imagine that there could be a better state of society in 
which greed, poverty and crime could be greatly lessened 
if not quite destroyed, if a majority of mankind only 
intelligently willed it so. Except in isolated cases, 
poverty as well as "hard times" are man-made and need 
never be, under a correct economic system. 

I wish to repeat that one of the greatest causes of 
poverty and "hard times" is the unjust practice of taking 
interest on money. All people pay interest on money 
whether they borrow money or not. Interest always 
adds to prices which ultimately rests upon the consumer. 
The manufacture or importer borrows money and will 
add the interest he has to pay, to his selling price to 
the wholesaler, who in turn adds it to his price to the 
retailer, the retailer adds it to his price to the consumer 
and the consumer pays interest on interest, and profit 
on interest, which adds greatly to price to the consumer, 
who pays very large interest when he pays for what he 
buys. 

The idea on which interest on money is based is the 
idea that causes most of our troubles. It is the idea of 
getting something for nothing. Getting what the other 
fellow works hard for without giving him an, equivalent. 
It is a subtle invention, to accomplish this without the 
other fellow realizing it. And it works. It works so 
well that if anyone suggests to the poor dupes who pay 
interest, that they should be getting the use of money 
from the government at cost instead of paying money 
lenders from six to twenty five per cent, they will im- 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 35 

mediately straighten up, look wise and talk foolish about 
the great mistake of having a paternal government. 
Sometimes I think no one but a crank would ever attempt 
to try and better conditions when the people to be 
benefitted, the people who are carrying the ''money 
changers" on their shoulders, appear to be so well satis- 
fied with their lot. But there is a reason for this. It 
is because the "money changers" propaganda is con- 
tinually before their eyes. It is the wrong sort of 
education they are getting on all occasions. Their reli- 
gion teaches them wrong; "'slaves obey your masters." 
Their political teachers teach them to hurrah for their 
country, right or wrong, and so on down the line. They 
are to be pitied more than blamed but nevertheless 
they must be blamed, because, while breaking their 
backs to pay interest, they are dreaming of the day 
when they will be on the other side of the interest 
question; when they will be receiving interest instead 
of paying it; when they can lay back in an easy chair 
in fine offices and clip coupons, smoke good cigars, tell 
yarns and enjoy life at other peoples expense. The 
average interest payer has no more use for the fellow 
who is trying to make life worth living for him, than 
the ancient brutal men had for Jesus. 

We all pay interest whether we borrow money or not. 
Any one who consumes, pays from one twentieth to 
one half more for what he consumes on account of in- 
terest on money. 

All interest on money is morally wrong when taken 
by private individuals. The government is the only 
agency that could justly demand interest on money 
under a civilized economic system. Interest in that case 
being the actual cost of the service, on the same prin- 
ciple as carrying letters at actual cost. A service a 
civilized government owes it's people. What would 
the rate of interest be under the new system? I do not 
know. No one can tell exactly any nearer than any one 
could tell what the postage on letters would eventually 



36 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

be when or before our postal system was established. 
Had any one said then, that in time a letter could be 
sent from New York to San Francisco and back again 
for two cents, he would have been laughed at. How- 
ever, the rate would be low, very low, so low that it 
would appear rediculously low to us of today. 

But what would the money lenders do? What did the 
saloon keepers do when saloons went out of style? How 
would it do for the money lenders to live off of their 
capital, off of their dollars, instead of using their dollars 
to rob people with, as long as their present dollars 
lasted ; and when they are all gone, just quietly go to 
work at brain labor or hand labor and earn some more 
dollars to exchange for good things of life, and not use 
their dollars in robbing their financially weak and ig- 
norant neighbors through interest on money. The time 
will come when it will be considered just as dishonest 
to cheat a person by taking interest on money from him 
as it would be to cheat him by means of mathematics, 
by false figuring. In both cases it is taking advantage 
of his ignorance. Under our present system it is honor- 
able to cheat by taking interest, but dishonest to inten- 
tionally, falsely figure. ''Oh, my," says some one, "you 
are just going to destroy all business, there will be no 
individual incentive left in life." That is just what the 
pirates of old said while being strung up to the nearest 
tree, and why should we not expect modern "interest" 
pirates to say the same thing when they feel the halter 
draw. 

One man said to me : "If I earn a dollar at labor 
why havn't I got a moral right to let that dollar along 
with many other dollars I have labored for, go toi work 
for me and earn more money for me?" I answered, that 
for the simple reason that dollars cannot, and do not 
work. It is only people and animals that work. It is 
men that plant and harvest crops. It is men that build 
houses and manufacture clothing. Dollars do not do 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 37 

such things, so you must necessarily quit repeating the 
fiction that dollars actually work. 

He answered: **Well, you will have to admit that 
men who plant, harvest build and manufacture, neces- 
sarily must have money to buy seed, hire help and pay 
bills with, and if I loan such men dollars for such pur- 
poses it seems reasonable to me that I should receive 
a fair rental or "interest" for the loan." 

I answered as follows : Your answer seems logical, 
fair and reasonable to a person who has never thought 
much on such questions and here is where the trouble 
comes. You have not thought deep enough, you merely 
skimmed the surface. In the first place it is necessary 
to decide just what is meant by the word money, just 
what it is, and what it does. Scientifically speaking 
money is a "medium of exchange," something that aids 
us to exchange products ; for instance : if I grow a sack 
of potatoes and another man in another county makes 
a wheel barrow, I, desiring a wheel barrow and the other 
man wanting a sack of potatoes, money aids us to ex- 
change products. I turn my sack of potatoes in to society 
or! into the general stock and receive five dollars for it. 
The man in the next county turns his wheelbarrow into 
the general stock and receives five dollars for same. 
Now I take my five dollars and go buy the wheelbarrow 
and he takes his five dollars and buys the sack of pota- 
toes. Now money, or dollars, merely aided us to ex- 
change products, acting as a medium of exchange or 
in a sense a book-keeping system. When I turn my 
sack of potatoes into the general stock of society, I 
simply received five dollars which acted as a credit slip 
from society showing that I had produced five dollars 
worth of things men need and use. This credit slip 
need not have had any intrinsic value. Five dollars in 
gold, five dollars in silver, five dollars in paper currency 
or a credit of five dollars entered on a little personal 
book like a bank book, were that the custom, would 
have been quite sufficient. Then when I wanted the 



38 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

wheelbarrow I could have drawn a check or have taken 
my little "bank book," credit book, to society and have 
had the five dollars credit received from potatoes, can- 
celled and could have taken home the wheelbarrow! and 
so on throughout business transactions. 

All money ever should be used for is a pure and 
simple medium of exchange. A system of book-keeping, 
so producers can equitably exchange products and under 
a correct economic system our government should furnish 
money direct to it's citizens at actual cost of service 
without the intervention of private banks or private 
individuals. A government note printed on good paper 
makes ideal scientific money especially for the exchange 
of domestic products. It is based on not only all gold, 
but also on all the other wealth of the nation. 

"My friend said : "Oh I see, you want the govern- 
ment to go into the banking business and loan money 
to Tom, Dick and Harry without security, why, you'd 
have the government busted in no time." 

My reply was that I desired nothing of the sort. 
That I believe the government should open banks and 
loan money only on the best of security, on the same 
kind of security that private banks loan money on at 
present and get rich doing it. A great deal of the money 
that banks loan is the people's money, not money be- 
longing to the banks. The banks collect the people's 
money together without paying much interest and then 
loan it back to a part of the people at as stiff a rate of 
interest as the traffic will bear. I would like to see the 
government collect the peoples' money and loan it back 
to the part of the people needing it, at just what it cost 
the government to transact the business without the 
big profits that bankers make. 

It is the government's duty to supply us with an 
adequate medium of exchange direct from our govern- 
ment to us, and not through banks and money lenders 
who stand between us and the scource of our medium 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE r 39 

of exchange levying an enormous unjust tribute from 
us. 

My friend said: "You are trying to fix it so if I 
go out and work hard and earn a dollar I can't put that 
dollar to work and earn more dollars for me, there 
would be no incentive for me to earn dollars under the 
system you propose." 

My reply was : Then I understand you to say that 
if you cannot so manipulate your hard earned dollars, 
as to get something for nothing, you would not care 
to earn dollars? You would not care to earn dollars for 
what those dollars would buy you in the open market? 
You would not care to produce and exchange unless 
you could cheat your neighbor, or in other words if you 
can't cheat you won't play? You would not care to grow 
five dollars worth of potatoes unless you could trade it 
for six dollars worth of wheelbarrows, the extra dollar 
being the interest on your five dolars loaned to your 
neighbor during the time you did not need it? Under a 
correct economic system if your neighbor took care of 
your five dollars for you during the time you did not 
need it and returned it to you in good shape when you 
did need it, you would be under obligation to your 
neighbor for keping it safe for you instead of your 
neighbor owing you interest, for the reason that, if the 
government did its duty and furnished to its citizens 
direct, all the medium of exchange that they needed at 
actual cost, which would be very slight, your nieghbor 
would have no need of your money. But the reason 
why you can loan your money to your neighbor today 
at 6, 8, 10% and higher rates of interest, is because our 
government does not do its duty towards its producers 
and workers. It allows non-producers and wealthy idlers 
to use their financial strength to rob the workers through 
interest and various other legal tricks too numerous to 
mention here. 

I do not wish to be understood as criticizing the 
Harding Administration or complaining, in a political 



40 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

sense, about our g-overnment. I believe that we have 
better men at the head of our government at present than 
we have had for a long time. What I see as necessary 
is an entirely reorganized economic system which will 
necessitate reorg^anizing^ our government on broader 
lines. This must be done by a majority of the great 
common people themselves and it is my business to 
help wake them up to the necessity. 

Another person said to me : "You wouldn't try to 
get us to adopt a new economic system that would take 
a poor widow woman's living away from her would you? 
Suppose a man worked hard the greater part of his life 
and a little past middle age was killed, leaving a wife 
and only ten thoasand dollars in cash. Now this widow, 
by working hard for others a part of the time and rest 
of the time for her family, and loaning the ten thousand 
dollars out at good interest, could just manage to sup- 
port her family and educate them. Now would you 
fix it so interest would be killed and cause this poor 
widow to lose the greater part of her income and there- 
by cause great suffering to herself and her babies?" 

The answer was : Your hypothetical case is far 
fetched. It is not put fairly, the main question, a moral 
one, has not been touched. It shows lack of thought. Be- 
fore commenting on it I will answer by asking you a 
question. Let us suppose there is another man just 
across the street who has worked hard the greater part 
of his life having a wife and a lot of babies also, and he 
meets with an accident and is killed, leaving certain ex- 
pensive tools, secret formulas, etc., that his wife could 
rent out for enough to educate and properly raise her 
family on. Would it be right to pass a law not only 
depriving her of the right to use these formulas and 
tools herself, and of renting them to others, but actually 
confiscating these tools and formulas and giving her 
nothing for them? His answer was: *Tt would be brutal 
and dishonest to do so. More so than to deprive the 
other widow of her interest because in the latter case, 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 41 

what was virtually both principal and interest were 
taken away from a helpless woman without giving her 
a just equivalent as you say." 

I replied : You answered without knowing what kind 
of tools and formulas they were. This answer bares your 
surface, sentimental reasoning. The tools were burglars 
tools and the formulas were secrets in safe cracking. 
You never let the question of morality enter into your 
reasoning in either hypothetical case. That is the main 
point I am trying to make clear all the way through. 
The moral question. The question of right. 

There is one important thing that must not be over- 
looked in the case of the first widow mentioned and 
that is : Had the husband received all he produced while 
accumulating his ten thousand dollars ; had unjust in- 
terest, rent and profit not stolen about one half of what 
he actually produced as he went along, he w^ould pro- 
bably have had twenty thousand dollars to leave his 
family instead of ten thousand which would have been 
better for the widow than to allow her to use the ten 
thousand with which to steal from others, while others 
were stealing from her, whenever she bought and paid 
for the necessities of life ; as big interest is added to the 
price of everything she purchased. Under a correct, 
honest economic system, she would have had twenty 
thousand dollars and no interest on money added to the 
price of what she bought to feed and clothe herself and 
family, which would have lowered the price of everything 
greatly, and her twenty thousand would go much further 
under an honest system than it would under our present 
system. 

He came back at me thus : "But, admitting all you 
say as true, if I honestly acquire dollars and loan them 
to my neighbor I take a risk and should be compensated 
for that risk ; call it what you may, interest, insurance 
or by any other name. It seems logical to me that 1 
have taken a risk accomodating my neighbor and it 



42 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

seems no more than right and just, that he should pay 
reasonably for that accommodation and risk/' 

The answer was : Again you show lack of broadness 
in your reasoning. You are too selfish. You are think- 
ing only of yourself and not of your neighbor; you are 
not taking all of humanity into consideration. You are 
trying to establish the justness of a genearl rule, (of 
taking interest on money) by citing a specific, isolated 
case, ignoring the causes that brought about your neigh- 
bor's need of an accommodation from you or any other 
private individual. Had the government in the first 
place done its duty, furinshed all the medium of exchange 
to all its financially responsible citizens (citizens who 
have something to exchange) at actual cost of so doing, 
your neighbor would not have needed the "accommoda- 
tion" from you. He could have gotten it from the govern- 
ment, had he been worthy, for one tenth part of what you 
could afford to let him have it for. Here is w^here the 
trouble all starts, the government failing to do its duty 
towards its citizens, drives its citizens into the financial 
slaughter pens of the *'money changers," and you in a 
very small way become a "money changer" and are 
proud of it. 

Our government tries to protect its citizens against 
physical murderers but makes no attempt to protect us 
against financial murderers, against the financially 
strong who are continually sucking the industrial life 
blood of the producers through "interest on money." 
This is the main cause of hard times every so often. 
They suck up through interest and other means until 
they have a surplus. There is too much of everything 
owned by the people who did not produce it. They 
have all the "goods," and all the money, also. The men 
who produced all this surplus have nothing but expe- 
rience and that does not seem to do them much good, 
for, after they stagger and starve through a period of 
"hard times for producers" they are more than willing 
to go at it again, and spit in the face of the fellow who 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 43 

suggests that there is a better way. Remember that 
"Hard Times" for producers are "Good Times" for the 
money lenders ; the money lenders' dollar will buy twice 
as much food, clothing and dainties in hard times as it 
will buy in good times, therefore it must be greatly to 
the money lenders' interest to have hard times. Hard 
times for the great common people is a lack of money 
among the producers or workers to exchange their pro- 
ducts. Graineries bursting and millions of willing 
workers hungry, who would like to exchange their labor 
for some of that grain, but no money to do it with. The 
harder the times the higher the rate of interest. Do you 
get the point? Interest on money is a banker's "crop." 
Hard times for the producers make good "crops" for the 
bankers. Do you see why we have hard times? 

The money lenders will tell you that there isn't 
much money in the money lending game, just a decent 
living, that the idea of the government lending money 
direct to the people on the same security that the banks 
require, is lunacy, that in the first place the government 
is not honest enough and does not know enough and that 
no one but an anarchist or Mormon would suggest it, so 
there now. 

If you wish to get dizzy just try to contemplate 
what the compound interest on $100 at 10% would be 
for three hundred years. It is over one hundred billion" 
dollars. Then figure how long it would take a million men 
working every work day without rest, at $5 per day 
to produce the actual wealth represented by the interest 
on only $100 for this length of time, (it would take over 
30 years) and you may be able to get a faint idea of the 
power and dishonesty of interest on money. Let a 
paltry $100 "work" a few centuries and a million men 
will be its slaves for a length of time that will stagger 
the imagination. Then figure how much one average 
man could earn at going wages, five dollars per day, in 
three hundred years. (Less than five hundred thousand 
dollars. The result will help you to see the light. The 



44 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

contrast between the result of the actual work of a man 
and the theoretical work of a few "Almighty Dollars" 
represented by a scrap of paper or a few metal disks, 
will cause you to see that the real monarchy of earth 
is "dollars" in our country and their relatives in other 
countries. Dollars have been elevated above men and 
women, and must be dethroned. We must take up the 
work started by Jesus of Nazareth and drive the "money 
changers" from earth. Nothing but a religious, or church 
movement will do it. Jesus knew what he was doing, 
come, Christians and follow Jesus, really follow Jesus. 

Remember this: One hundred dollars at ten per 
cent, compound interest will "earn" two hundred thou- 
sand times as much as one ordinary laboring man in 
three hundred years, were it possible for one man to 
live and work that long. 

In other words, $100 will "earn," in 300 years, as 
much as 200,000 laboring men, at $5 a day; each man 
working 300 days for) 300 years. 

In still other words, one dollar in the above illustra- 
tion is equal in importance to two thousand laboring 
men. 

Each dollar "working" at the interest-on-money job 
continually for 300 years as above stated will "earn" as 
much as two thousand men will earn in the same length 
of time. One dollar equals two thousand men. This is 
the logical conclusion of our financial system carried on 
uninterruptedly for three hundred years. This shows 
the possibilities of wrong financial ideas. 

I have not given you the exact figures, right down to 
the dollar, day or man. If you want these, figure it your- 
self. If you think I have placed the interest too high, 
use any rate of interest you care to, and the result will 
be bad enough. I am simply trying to show you that 
interest on money is wrong; that our present financial 
system is a fraud ; that it enthrones dollars and degrades 
men; that it is possible for one dollar in money, under 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 45 

our present economic system to become of as much 
importance as two thousand men. 

You might say: "Men do not live three hundred 
years, therefore you are wasting time with 'ifs'." 

While men do not live this long, dollars live this 
long and much longer, drawing their compound interest. 
Dollars live for ages to oppress common and industrious 
humanity while serving and elevating gamblers and 
grafters. Dollars should live to serve legitimate trade 
and business only. We can get along without gamblers 
and grafters as easily as we can get along without the 
smallpox. 

Go easy ! Do not blame the individual, either one 
individual or many individuals together. The fault alone 
is with the system and we are all upholding the system 
either positively or negatively. The. system was willed 
to us by the ancients who also willed us many a thing 
that will stand a little improving, our religion included. 

Individually speaking the average banker and money 
lender plays the game fairly according to the rules laid 
down by the economic system we are all subject to. No 
blame is to be attached to the inidividual. We must 
build a new system by gradually repairing the old, as 
a new bridge is being built into an old bridge across a 
stream, while using the new and old together until the 
new is complete, when the old can be entirely dispensed 
with. 

The first plank in our ancient economic bridge sys- 
tem that we should rip up, is the "interest on money" 
plank. There are many, many others to be replaced, but 
this^is the first. 

One person said to me : "Aren't we to have any 
banks or bankers, nothing but potatoe producers and 
wheelbarrow makers? It looks to me like you were 
trying to tear down civilization and go back to barbarism. 
Now just what do you propose?" 

The answer was : All I am trying to do, is to put the 
best moral teachings of Jesus, Confucius and Guatama 



46 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

into practice so as to improve our present civilization 
and bring peace and plenty to common industrious hu- 
manity throughout the world, with no really hard times 
for them. Prosperity all the time for the deserving. 

Money and banks, also men to run the banks are 
absolutely necessary and we must have such. But we 
must have money and bankers as servants of the people 
instead of masters of the people. These same bankers 
and banks working under and for our (government, 
which would be under and for our people, at a fair re- 
muneration, would be a blessing to humanity. 

With no interest on money, except interest taken by 
the government at actual cost of furnishing the money 
to do business on, or interest taken by our government 
as taxes, billions of dollars per year would be saved to 
the producers of earth that is now mysteriously, though 
legally, stolen from them by the idlers of the world 
every year. A banker working for the people at a fair 
wage is as much a producer in the broader sense of the 
word as a teacher or a farmer. Civilization must have 
diversified and specialized workers of all kinds, and 
workers should be ''worthy of their hire." It is the false 
theory that money can and does work and produce or 
increase, that I wish to kill. It is the idlers, prime of 
age and healthy of body; the idle rich and the idle poor 
that should be set to work either with brains or hands. 

We should not object to our present wealthy class 
keeping and using their present hoard of dollars and 
spending them as they see fit for necessities or luxuries, 
but we should object to allowing them to use their 
present dollars to get more dollars through interest on 
money. If they want more dollars let them earn them 
honestly with hands and brains. 

After reorganizing our government and injecting a 
heart and conscience into it, it should take over or embark 
in the banking business. Our government should own 
and control all money, loaning it to its citizens at actual 
cost of doing so, taking the best of security. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURkr 47 

With the government in control of the banking busi- 
ness, interest on money might be made a simple, effec- 
tive and equitable mode of taxation. Taxes levied this 
way would be easy to collect and would be paid ulti- 
mately by the consumer as they are today, with the 
difference that at present we pay a big interest tax to 
the idle money lenders which does us no good, while 
on the other hand a government interest tax would go 
to the government and do everybody good by lessening 
all other taxes greatly, possibly eliminating most of them 
completely, doing away with many other forms of taxa- 
tion, thereby doing away with an army of tax gatherers. 

It is an easy matter to change from private banks 
to government banks when a majority of our people 
desire the change. But the chances are that the change 
will not come very soon. It will not come until some 
strong organization demands it, and it is my opinion 
that there is no organization in existance at present that 
will ever demand it. The opposition against it will be 
fierce, something like a tiger fighting to retain the car- 
cas of a lamb. And the people are slow to see and cor- 
rect the injustice they suffer from. What I or any other 
individual can do towards correcting the economic evils 
we all suffer from, is only a drop in the bucket. But if 
there are enough drops, in time, the bucket will be over- 
flowing. Every individual is a drop. Line up you 
"drops." 



"BY THEIR FRUITS, YE SHALL KNOW THEM" 

By their fruits we of today know our religions, our 
churches, our economic systems and our governments ; 
on them must the blame be placed for the war torn, 
deplorable condition of our earth. These man-made 
gods who rule over us with an iron hand, elevating or 
crushing us at will must be analyzed and reformed. We 
take too much for granted. We allow our ignorance 
and prejudice instead of our reason, to run our affairs. 
We accept too many ideas that were manufactured 
thousands of years ago when people thought the world 
was flat and war was a virtue, by men claiming that 
God told them so ; ideas that would sound silly if the 
same men had said that any one but God had told them 
so. 

God evidently gave us this thing we call reason and 
He must have intended that we should use it, even in 
judging other men when they come along and tell us 
that they "walked and talked with God," and that God 
told them certain things simply because they were God's 
Chosen." The dead have given us moderns many great 
things but they have also hung millstones around our 
necks that we must get rid of. We must educate, and 
to educate we must organize, or re-organize our insti- 
tutions. We must have less preaching in words and 
more practice in deeds. Churches must be turned into 
school houses for grown-ups; consultation chambers to 
discover the causes of "hard times," poverty, crime and 
debauchery and recommend remedies. 

To consider what is best to prevent poverty is better 
than to give to the poor. To consider what is best to 
prevent sickness is better than to heal. To have no 
unknown dead is better than to honor the unknown dead. 
We should not magnify the ancient days or ancient men 
and writings above those of today. Merit should decide, 
not time. If God was on earth in ancient days, He is 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 49 

here today. Creation, through evolution, is going on 
as much at present as it was six thousand years ago. 

We must take an inventory of our civilization and 
start in business anew, trying to avoid the mistakes of 
the past. That .we will make mistakes in the future is 
inevitable, but we should not keep on repeating the 
the same old mistakes of the past. We of today are not 
wholly responsible for the world's misery, as it has been 
willed to us, but we will be responsible for the future 
wars and human suffering if we pass these man-made 
gods along to our children without studying and re- 
forming them. 

The selfishness and arrogance of the educated and 
wealthy leaders as well as the ignorance of the great 
common people who blindly follow, causes poverty, hard 
times and unrest. The cure is proper education. 

We should have no extremely rich or idle rich and 
no extremely poor or idle poor. We should have no 
uncared-for children, feeble, crippled or sick. All should 
give according to their ability and all should receive 
according to their needs. 

We must necessarily fight false religion because the 
dead thing is in our way. People full of false religion 
and selfish thoughts about their own particular place 
in heaven have but little room on their minds for human- 

We are all one, and the misfortune or injury of one 
should be the concern of all. This is the philosophy of 
Jesus. He never used the words: ''Believe or be damn- 
ed." These words, together with other slanders against 
Jesus should be torn from the Bible. They are words of 
a forked-tongued priesthood, hissed from between the 
covers of the "word" of a man-made god that we must 
forget. 



THE FIRST STEP 

The first step toward a higher civilization as I see 
it, is to purify our religion and exalt above everything 
earthly, even above government; let our purified reli- 
gion be the constitution of our government. And if our 
religion says "thou shalt not kill" or ''thou shalt not 
steal," reform the government that kills or steals. I 
am writing of all governments of all peoples of earth. 

Christianity, after going through the fire of intense 
reasonable thought, will come out pure moral gold, 
and all enlightened, moral people of earth will believe 
in and uphold it, but — there must necessarily be a lot of 
religious rubbish burned and a lot of decayed religious 
matter plowed under first. 

A worn out religious idea to be put out of commis- 
sion, is the idea that any one of use or any number of 
us together are "chosen of God." Thejews worked this 
idea overtime and are still suffering for it. The Ger- 
mans tried it and will suffer for their foolishness. All 
Christians and many heathens have more or less forci- 
bly put forth this idiotic self conceited idea. All people 
must quit it. 

Another religious idea to discard, is that prayer and 
confession only, will get us anywhere, either in this 
world or the world to come. Prayer and confession, 
without good hard work will not put us through college. 
It will not cause us to become good farmers, good 
mechanics, good merchants, good musicians or good and 
efficient anything on this earth and we have a right to 
presume that the rule holds good in the next world. 

And still another religious stumbling block to pro- 
gress is the "vicarious atonement" idea. This idea was 
invented by lazy people who made a living out of their 
religion and should have no place in purified Chris- 
tianity — the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Words 
supporting this idea were evidently placed in the mouth 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 51 

of Jesus nearly a century after he was dead. It is 
blasphemy against Jesus and the great Creator of all, 
to repeat and believe it. 

The idea of one person suffering for another has 
never taken root in any of our wordly affairs. No 
judge, jury or well balanced sane man or woman would 
stand for it on this earth, and we have a right to assume 
that the case would be the same in the next world. It 
is a lazy, cowardly man's idea of salvation on this earth. 
The manly, womanly way in this world is for each to 
suffer for their own sins and make our good works our 
only salvation. Who can say that this is not the proce- 
dure in the next world? To know what are good works 
in all earthly affairs should be the chief study of preachers 
and telling how to apply same should be their main 
occupation. In other words our religious teachers should 
pay more attention to practical religion and less atten- 
tion to theoretical religion. We need less beautiful words 
which are musical air to be blown away. Let our 
preachers say: "I am not come to preach but to found 
a new practice in life whereby crime, misery and starva- 
tion may be averted." 

The following words writen 2500 years ago, are good 
reading today: "The words that come out of man's 
mouth, even though they profess prayers and repen- 
tance are of little avail before Jehovah. But the words 
that come out of good works done unto others to raise 
them up, are as the sound of a trumpet that reacheth 
beyond the stars." 

'Tn all ages of the world there have been deceivers 
and hypocrites, with Temples and Churches to worship 
in, professing to serve the Creator, but in fact serving an 
idol." 

"There is no resurrection but by developing the 
talents Jehovah created unto all men. Go ye to work, 
therefore and to places of education, that ye may be- 
come fit companions of Jehovah's exalted angels." 

"Neither shall one man judge another, or one nation 



52 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

judge another, and cry out, heathen; or one people judge 
another and cry out, pagan." 

"Their priests and preachers spake good doctrines, 
but they practiced them not, save a little, as a blind to 
lead the multitude astray. And they live in fine houses 
and fare sumptuously every day; and are skilled in 
oratory and in doctrinal precepts ; but they will not go 
and serve the poor, teaching them how to live." 

"My judgements are upon those that profess me, 
dealing out their pittance to the poor, whilst they them- 
selves live above want. When such men die and enter 
the first resurrection they shall be handed over to those 
who are in darkness, and their bondage shall be a hun- 
dredfold. For they preached righteousness with the 
mouth, but, in their behavior they laid their foundation 
for the kingdom of hypocrisy. Verily I give unto them 
the harvest that ccmeth of their own sowing. I know no 
distinctions of men, of races or sects, doctrines or past 
revelations. All people are My people." 

"Have faith O man, in Him, who created thee alive, 
about Him there can be no mistake. Glorify Him by 
righteous works, having faith that even as He brought 
thee into life, so will He provide unto thee according 
to thy just deserts." 

"For I will make man understand that he shall accept 
nothing from angels or men because of the name pro- 
fessed. On the merit only of wisdom and truth, and 
such good doctrines as raise men up out of darkness and 
poverty and crime, shall they accept either spoken or 
written words." 

"And they shall try to organize to carry out good 
works, but they shall fail. For many will desire to be 
leaders, being under the influence of selfish considera- 
tions, desiring the applause of men." 

"And they will profess freedom, but they will not 
pledge themselves to any sacrifice, either of money or 
opinion for the sake of the public good." 

"And little good shall come out of their works and 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 53 

even less peace of soul shall come to them. For they 
shall dispute and quarrel, being divided in all their ideas, 
philosophies and sentiments, and understanding of real 
truth." 

"Thou shalt judge thyself; thy spirit is as a manu- 
script in thine own handwriting; thou art daily writing 
thy grade and the place of thy abode in heaven." 

"Neither prayers nor confessions shall graduate thee 
in my house, to be companion to such as have passed 
on before thee. So say I at the gates of my exalted 
heavens, unto the inhabitants of earth : Only by know- 
ledge and righteous works done unto one another shall 
ye be able to endure the light of my Kingdoms." 

Our churches have spent too much time on theories 
that interest us and not enough time on facts that 
govern us. Churches should spend more time on the 
religion of the body which we can know a lot about and 
less time on the religion of the soul which we never can 
know much about until we pass on. Our preachers 
should speculate more on how to make our earthly 
existence more comfortable, more healthy, more perfect 
and more helpful to others less fornunate than our- 
selves. We know that there is misery and crime in this 
world and that it can be lessened, if we all earnestly 
try to lessen it. I believe our churches should not only 
inspire us to make this world better than we find it, but 
actually cause us to do it. The origin of man is com- 
paratively unimportant to us beside the question of his 
welfare on earth. Too little religious thought has been 
placed on earth and too much in the clouds. Life should 
not be regarded wholly as a preparation for death. 

I believe Christianity to be as good as any religion 
on earth, but I am not overly proud that I belong to a 
Christin nation, for the following reasons: 

Christianity teaches, "thou shalt not kill," but Chris- 
tian nations are the greatest killers of earth. No heathen 
nation can hold a candle to them, unless they use 
methods and weapons invented by" Christians. 



54 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE s 

Qiristianity teaches, "thou shalt not steal," yet it 
takes a Christian nation to steel an empire and get away 
with it. 

Christianity takes and teaches the wrong view in 
regard to social economy, as to methods of bettering 
the condition of "the least of these my brethren." The 
Christian idea seems to be indiscriminate giving, without 
doing anything practical to remove the causes of poverty. 
It seems to me to be weakly trying to bind and soothe 
the wounds of humanity, made by heartless govern- 
ments of earth, instead of commanding these govern- 
ments to cease causing these wounds to be. 

Humanity craves something more effective than pre- 
sent day Christianity. Something better than Chris- 
tianity, something more Christian than Christianity. 
Somehting that will go to the people of earth and aid 
them regardless of whether the people "believe" in Chris- 
tianity or not. Something Humanitarian in its scope. 

Christianity says "Come to Jesus, come to our God, 
come to us, come to our way of thinking in religious 
matters, or you are heathens even though you are moral- 
ly perfect." 

What we need is a world-wide Humanitarian reli- 
gion, that includes every living human of earth as one 
of "God's chosen people," a religion that causes all to 
say to all : We are brothers and sisters, your God is my 
God regardless of what you think or believe. Your 
birth and good moral conduct makes you a member of 
our church if you wish to associate with us. We will 
help you all we can and will not dispute with you over 
matters in vv^hich we merely "believe" but know nothing 
about. Go and make life happier for everybody except 
those who persist in doing that which all v/ell meaning 
people concede to be wrong. 

We must quit thinking, and our religion must quit 
teaching, "the fall of man," that we fell in an instant 
and can rise in an instant; that we can rise to perfection 
only through bathing in the blood of innocence ; that 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 55 

our Creator can and will change us from ignorance and 
criminality to wisdom and innocence just by our be- 
lieving what ancient poets taught. Our religion must 
teach the "rise of man" as proclaimed by modern science 
and unqualifiedly endorsed by the mental giants of our 
age; that through education and growth only, can we 
hope to reach perfection ; that it all depends on ourselves; 
on hard, honest, conscientious work. The idea of "vica- 
rious atonement" is a lazy man's dream of progress and 
a coward's idea of shirking responsibility, kept alive by 
those who make an easy living out of it. Easy for the 
preacher to repeat and easy for the drone to swallow. 

We must resurrect the religion of Jesus and bury 
the religion if priests, together with its symbol, the 
cross, and climb heavenward on earth. 

The cross represents the religion of priests: "Believe 
or be damned." 

Kind acts represents the religion of Jesus: "Do as 
you wish to be done by." 

The two kinds of religion will not mix. Take your 
choice. 

Priestly religion is a mental narcotic. It clouds the 
brain and makes people stupid, leading to mental stagna- 
tion and decay. 

Jesus of Nazareth religion clears the brain like a ray 
of sunshine in a darkened room, and heralds the morning 
of civilizations' glorius day to come. His religion, pro- 
perly taught, will banish wars and lesser evils ; will tear 
down jails, asylums and reformatories, placing real 
churches, libraries and theatres in their places. 



THE CHURCH OF THE FUTURE 

I see the church of the future as one great building 
covering the earth, with rooms in every city and village 
of every nation, where the great mass of the common 
people of every country go for social intercourse, en- 
lightenment, refinement and pleasure. A social center 
open every day in the year, where all well meaning 
people may combine for the good of mankind, regardless 
of their religious belief or disbelief. A church that 
leaves everyone free to choose his or her own religion; 
a happy practical combination of all that is best in 
modern church, Sunday school, library and theatre. 

A church that is the house of man, a Sunday school 
and week day school for grown-ups of all religions, where 
truth about human betterment is taught in an impartial, 
honest, prayerful manner; where all may learn from an 
unprejudiced standpoint, the moral teachings of Jesus, 
Confucius, Guatama, and of the wonders of modern 
science as well as the better teachings of all Bibles. A 
church in which the wjords of man are taught. A church 
that pays as much attention to the body of man as it 
does to his soul. A church that is interested whether 
he is receiving a fair compensation for his daily ser- 
vices for society or whether he is being unjustly dealt 
with by those who have a little temporary authority 
over him. A church that makes it part of its main 
business on earth to see that earthly justice is done to 
all. A church that demands a square deal politically 
and otherwise, for its members. A church in which 
public opinon can be educated, refined and through 
which it can assert itself in no uncertain manner. A 
church unhampered by theoretical religion, which has 
always proved to be a divider of humanity; a church 
which will organize the great common people of earth 
to make them better, wiser, healthier, happier citizens 
of earth. A church for man, not for Jesus; Jesus does 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 57 

not need an earthly dwelling or headquarters of timber, 
brick or stone. Neither does the great Creator of all. 
But man does need such, and needs it badly. He needs 
a chruch to teach him that which is worth while in this 
life and the right way to attain it. A church teaching 
what the truly great men of all ages have said and are 
saying. 

A church with the word Humanitarian shining above 
each entrance ; a church of man, in which the best words 
of man are taught, using the Golden Rule as its guide, 
proclaiming to the world that God is great and all 
humans are his children, and that there is no higher 
worship of our Creator than the service of humanity; 
that it is better to aid the unfortunate and teach them 
how to be self supporting and happy than it is to get 
down and crawl before the unseen and unknown, while 
mumbling a set form of words. A church welcoming 
all who desire and strive to be better and wiser, and 
wish to help make this earth a better place for humane 
man to dwell. 

A church that teaches practical, every day morality; 
that it is wrong to gamble, that is is wrong to get some- 
thing for nothing, that it is Wrong to take unless you 
give an equivalent, instead of a church that holds church 
fairs and teaches that gambling is all right as long as 
it is done in a small way in "God's House.*' 

A church that teaches the evils of liquor in all its 
forms instead of a church that passes liquor to its mem- 
bers calling it the ''blood of Jesus"; the same liquor 
that if passed in a saloon would be called the broth of 
the Devil by this same church. 

A church that will "come down to earth" and help 
to give us well fed and protected bodies in which souls 
worthy to sit with Jesus, may dwell and live this life like 
self respecting humans, instead of like hyenas, buzzards, 
wolves and hawks preying on one another. 

Our church should see that the physically strong, 
the mentally strong, the financially strong do not abuse 



58 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

the weak. Our church should quit mumbling prayers 
and go to work educating and refining the great common 
people. It should stay out of politics, stay out of reli- 
gion and stay out of the clouds. It belongs down here 
on earth among us every day in the week; aiding us to 
a higher and better life. 

This is religion enough for a church, that all com- 
mon people of earth can join to build a new world in 
which world citizenship has its birth. This would be 
a real "League of Nations," a league of the great com- 
mon people of the various nationalities of earth, who are 
the real nations, instead of a League of a tew political 
leaders with a little transitory power, whose successors 
in office, quarreling among themselves, may at will 
overturn human affairs and destroy civilization. 

God and Jesus are too busy with more important 
business than to waste any more time on a lot of half- 
baked, stiff-necked humans who run their heads in the 
desert sand of selfishness and swear the sun of truth 
does not shine. A lot of humans who will allow one 
crazy nobody to start a world war and kill off seven 
million of the best men and women of earth, and for 
what? 

The churches of earth are whining that they are not 
patronized as they should be, that people do not take the 
interest in them that they should, which is all true, but, 
there is a reason and the reason is because the churches 
do not take a real interest in the people, in their earthly 
welfare. The churches pray for the peoples' souls while 
the governments of earth rob their bodies. It may be 
true that the people of earth have as good governments 
as they deserve, as their main business in life seems to 
be to rob each other, but — the churches should get busy 
preparing the people in a practical manner to be worthy 
of better governments. While the trouble may be caused 
by individual ignorance which breeds disease — economic 
as well as bodily, which causes all this injustice and 
unhappiness-the churches of earth should make it their 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 59 

business to restore harmony by commanding their 
preachers to study and help solve purely wordly affairs. 
If worldly affairs are too low and coarse for our spirit- 
ually refined ministers to bother with, they are certainly 
too low and debasing for Jesus and God to fool with. 
Economics have been left to politicians too long, for too 
many centuries. Our churches must use their refining 
and civilizing influence in government and business or 
make way for churches that will, for churches that Jesus 
would feel at home in, were he on earth today, 
Churches whose members can believe or disbelieve that 
the Bible is the ''Word of God" or that Jesus is a God. 
man or myth. These should be unimportant matters to 
the church ; they can only be important to the individual 
and he should and will decide them according to his 
intelligence and education. 

The well meaning, moral men and women of earth 
spend too much time disputing over whether the Bible 
is the Word of God or not, and whether Jesus is a God 
or not, and too little time working shoulder to shoulder 
trying to make this earth a better place to live on. 

Man is God-made, and churches and governments 
are man-made. What is God-made is of more importance 
than what is man-made. It is the man that is important, 
not the government or church. The church and the 
government should serve the man. It is the man that 
suffers or enjoys, that dies and goes to heaven or hell 
and not the church or government. The church and 
government should be merely a human means of col- 
lecting men together in order to better their condition, 
and not to simply better the condition of "money 
changers," politicians and preachers. 

Simply because one good man believes that Jesus is 
a God, and another good man believes Jesus is a myth, 
is not a good enough reason why they should spend their 
time and energy working against each other. They 
should be working side by side for the betterment of 
all. If Jesus is a God, what any one man, or any one 



60 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

million men, believes to the contrary, does not change 
the great truth itself. And if Jesus is not a God, the 
belief of all men of all time does not affect the great 
fact in the least. While we all know that it is better to 
believe truth than it is to believe falehood, and that 
individually speaking, we are all in different stages of 
development and cannot honestly see truths that are 
perfectly plain to those a little higher up on the ladder 
of intelligence, where the view is broader, it ill becomes 
the person standing on the mountain of knowledge where 
the view is unlimited, who ''knows" Jesus to be a God, 
to waste his time and energy disputing with his brother 
down in the valley of ignorance, who does not know 
it or even ''believe" it, where the view is cut off on all 
sides, when both could join hands and work for better 
material conditions, without any insult or injury to Jesus. 
If Jesus is a God he can get along fine without our silly 
kow-towing. If he is not a God, kow-towing belittles 
him. 

One life and one world at a time, seems good logic 
to me. Our present earth life is evidently the foundation 
for the next life. A good foundation is always very 
desirable. Our religion should teach us how to live our 
present life properly and not speculate too much on life 
hereafter. Religion should not teach us practices detri- 
mental to health, or true happiness, which we may 
derive from proper earthly relations. Holiness should 
not mean an unnatural life, a hermit's life, a single life, 
it should mean a natural life in conformity to the laws 
of human nature ; a practical life among other people. 
It should mean to live a natural, healthy, normal life, 
taking a share in the world's activities. To eat, wear 
and enjoy, to love and be loved, but to be temperate in 
all things. 

Our religion should use exact and scientific expla- 
nations, not poetic and symbolic language. People waste 
a lot of valuable time and energy trying to fathom the 
meaning of mythical poetry, parables and allegories of 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 61 

a remote time, people and language, which creates a 
world of misunderstanding and endless bickerings and 
silly arguments on matters that no one knows anything 
about. It not only does great harm in this life but 
clouds a clear understanding of the life to come. 

Our religion should teach the individual that he owes 
a duty first to himself and next to thei world. That his 
first duty is to improve himself and then to work for 
humanity ; a duty he owes to his Creator for the bless- 
ings he receives, whether the world appears friendly 
or otherwise towards him. 

Out of reverence to our Creator we should disbe- 
lieve and disapprove of much that is taught by modern 
religions. We should believe God to be too wise and 
good to be cruel, vindictive, blood thirsty and dis- 
honest. These are human traits, and any Bible teaching 
us that the great Creator of all, has, or did have, these 
traits at any time in the past, is teaching falsehood. 
The Christian Bible teaches these horrible things about 
God. 

Our religion should teach that virtue brings its own 
reward and vice its own punishment. That blood of 
Gods, men or animals, does not wipe away sin. It 
should teach the moral responsibility of the individual 
and that the Golden Rule contains the highest morality. 
That the doorway to reformation is never closed against 
any human soul, here or hereafter. This is the broad, 
manly view. 

Our religion should not teach that death is a penalty 
inflicted upon mankind and all creatures below man, 
because the first man and woman offended God and He 
sentenced them and unborn millions of innocent people 
as well as animals, to suffer death here, and then be 
tortured endlessly in hell hereafter, unless they believe 
the horrible statement that God caused his only be- 
gotten Son to be cruelly murdered by an ignorant, 
vicious mob to appease Gods wrath, and that God's 
original plans were defeated by a wicked spirit in the 



62 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE s 

form of a snake, who, with man, was more power- 
ful than God. Such teachings slander our Creator, the 
maker and Ruler of our vast universe. Such teachings 
have the effect of picturing our Creator as a weakling 
and a brute. Such teachings make rdligion a,ppear 
disgusting to the intelligent, such teachings insult refine- 
ment, such teachings hamper the church. 

Our religious creeds were made by ancients, men who 
believed our earth to be flat and that God possesses all 
the passions and weaknesses of men. Now some of 
these ancient men were no doubt honest and did the 
best they knew how to do. We should get busy and 
see what we can do in a safe, sane and sensible religious 
line. 

Our religion should teach that public necessities and 
utilities, which all the people must use to live, such as 
lands, water and crude materials provided by nature, 
should be controlled by the people collectively, and not 
by individuals to the detriment of the people who must 
have these things or perish. 

Our religion should teach social democracies in which 
men and women exercise equal social, political, econo- 
mic and religious rights and privileges, in which all are 
free to do whatsoever they desire to do, provided that, 
in the doing thereof, they do not infringe upon the 
rights of or injure others. 

We, the common people of earth, need a reformed 
church, a church that teaches us to come closer together 
and progress. A church that actually inspires and 
causes us. to be better and do better. 

A church that will cause our government to look 
out for its citizens as a father looks out for the interest 
of his family. 

Our religion should not only stop men from killing 
each other in war but should stop men from swindling 
each other in peace. It should banish from the earth 
unmerited poverty and the fear of it, unmerited sorrow 
and unnecessary pain. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? . 63 

The whole effort of our church should be to find 
what the truth is, for the truth's sake alone, and not to 
bolster up ancient erroneous religious thought. 

Our religion should avoid the idea of this world be- 
ing only temporary and of no consequence and that the 
next world is the all important one, as it is a bad idea 
for humans to get too strongly. It belittles all effort 
to make this world a better place to live in. This life 
is as sacred as any life we know of. 

Our religion should teach us salvation by truth, 
justice and healthy hard work and not by sacrifice and 
sacrament. "The truth will make you free." 

Our religion should teach, "a, union of all who love 
in the interest of all who suffer." It should teach us 
to not take a delight in lording it over those whom 
chance or accident places in our power, but rather teach 
us to feel honored that we can serve others. 

Our religion should cause our governments to quit 
going around with "a chip on the shoulder," looking for 
trouble, finding it and then committing murder. 

Our religion has always taught and upheld slavery 
instead of intelligent, independent citizenship. It has 
always taught "servants obey your masters," "wives 
obey your husbands," "slaves submit, forget your earth- 
ly troubles and store up treasures in heaven," "obey 
your King, obey your Lord." 

We need a church that will dwell on and teach the 
good of all religions, as well as teach correct economic 
principles and the way to right living here on earth so 
that we all will get the maximum of enjoyment out of 
life with the least possible amount of pain and sorrow, 
throwing the sackcloth and ashes brand of religion in 
the rubbish heap where it belongs. 

A church that tells the world that it was organized 
to bring happiness on earth and not to oppose any other 
church, but to aid in spreading economic truth as well 
as spiritual truth, and make better citizens of its members, 
who are free to join any other church also, that they 



64 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

choose to join, without ceasing to be members in good 
standing in this church. 

A church that will teach its members but not dictate 
to, and domineer over them. A church that does not 
profess to own or control the body or soul of any mem- 
ber. A church that merely desires to guide the intellect 
of its members towards absolute truth and justice in 
all things. A church that teaches right thinking and 
;*ight living. A Humanitarian Church. 

We must have a new church movement that will 
teach the wisdom of Jesus, Confucius and Guatuma, to 
aid us in solving our problems. The myths, fairy tales, 
dreams and lies woven around them by deluded and 
dishonest people must be destroyed so as not to dim the 
true manly worth of these greatest men of earth. The 
fog of superstition and cobwebs of error that obstruct 
our vision of them must be brushed aside so we may 
see them in all their glory. This would be a grand 
second coming of Jesus, as well as of the others, and the 
only second coming that intelligence could expect. 

I regret very much that it is necessary for me to 
attack false religion in my effort to aid common humani- 
ty, as all false religions are serpents, and he who is 
indiscreet enough to step on their tails is sure to have 
venemous fangs sunk deep into his anatomy. 



GOVERNMENT DISTRIBUTION 

It seems to me that we must gradually grow towards 
a combination of individual production and government 
distribution coupled with government supervision of 
production in an advisory capacity, more than man- 
datory, so as not to interfere with individual initiative 
and individual responsibility. 

Governments should encourage and aid in a fatherly 
manner without entering into competition, unless it would 
be greatly to the benefit of a majority of the citizens. 

While absolute government control and operation 
of production and distribution may be the goal of our 
present civilization, I believe we should approach it 
with caution. That, if it is to come, to be healthy, it 
must be a gradual growth and not a leap. 

Private ownership in land beyond a certain point- 
must be curbed. It is certainly not right for one man 
to hold in idleness ten thousand acres of land while ten 
thousand idle men willing to work land, are deprived. 
Just what the concrete remedy should be is hard for any 
one person to determine. In correcting old wrongs let 
us be careful not to enthrone new ones. When the 
great common people get their minds on these questions 
they will settle them and settle them fair to every one. 
But the problem is to get the peoples' minds on the 
questions in an unbiased manner. The churches can do 
it after the churches heve been reformed. 

Our first duty is to reform ourselves ; get the habit 
of thinking long and deep before we act, before we vote, 
before we follow any leader, whether religious or poli- 
tical. Then reform our present churches or organize 
a new world-wide church, whose principal business shall 
be to reform governments as well as individuals. A 
church that Hotentots and Christians, Chinese and Ger- 
mans, Hebrews and Japanese, in fact all children of 
God can join and feel at home in. A church that will 



66 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

let heaven in the clouds rest for a while, and just pull 
off its coat, roll up its sleeves, spit on its hands and go 
to work building a real heavenly heaven here on earth 
in the ever present now. 

Government should take over the large things that 
individuals or corporations cannot handle so well, for 
the whole people's best interest. Even as our roads 
and streets are built and maintained by our government 
for the use and enjoyment of all our people. How much 
better this is than for private individuals or corporations 
to attempt it. 

It is true that we suffer from some graft, some 
incompetency and some Wilful neglect, but no one can 
truthfully say that it would be for the best interest of 
a majority, for our government to turn our roads and 
streets over to private ownership and control. If there 
are abuses the remedy is to purify and make better, 
"governmental efficiency, by paying better government 
officers and employees, better wages, then requiring 
better service. 

In other words take government affairs out of the 
hands of politicians, out of politics. It can be done if 
the common people want it done and will let their wants 
be known. 

I do not wish to see individual incentive, individual 
initiative or individual responsibility spoiled or even 
"mussed up," as long as they behave themselves and do 
not go round stealing from and fooling the great com- 
mon people of earth. As long as they behave themselves, 
as long as they are honest and virtuous, I say encourage 
them, advise and help them to prosper. And, with this 
end in view I would suggest creating and establishing 
a new member of the Presidents Cabinet, to be known as 
Secretary of General Information, or any other name, 
whose duty it w'ould be to keep in touch with our people, 
all our people — the rich, the poor, the enterprising, the 
lazy, the healthy, the sick, the farmer, the business man 
the man, the woman, the child — and "advise" them 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 67 

what our government, our great man-made god, thinks 
best for them to do, in regard to business, health, 
courting, marrying, home building, plowing, sowing, 
reaping, harvesting, dressmaki-ng, cooking, home keeping, 
business dealings, buying, selling and a thousand other 
things too numerous to mention that would be of im- 
mense value to our brightest and wisest citizens and of 
greater value to our dullest. 

It is true our government does some of these things 
already but it does it in only a retail, peanut stand, sort 
of a way. What we need is for our government to do 
this thing in a Henry Ford sort of a way. 

To illustrate what I am trying to get at I will tell 
a little story reciting an incident in my life and then 
you can imagine the rest. 

About fifteen years ago I was farming in Imperial 
Valle}^ My neighbor planted ten acres of cantaloupes. 
About the time the vines blossomed, this neighbor of- 
fered to sell me his eighty or one hundred and twenty 
acre ranch. I have forgotten the actual number of 
acres, for five thousand dollars which, of course, included 
the ten acres of cantaloupes. I turned his proposition 
down cold. One reason was, that I already owned a 
five hundred and sixty acre ranch. 

About ninety days later, this neighbor of mine Was 
counting the cash he had received as "profit" on the ten 
acres of cantaloupes. Their was a little more or a 
little less than five thousand dollars, the price he asked 
for his whole ranch, cantaloupes included. 

I cleared my decks for action and planted on my 
ranch, eighty acres of cantaloupes next season. I tended 
those cantaloupes as tenderly as a society woman does 
a pet pup. And my, how those melons did grow and 
mature. I, and my renters, spent about three thousand 
dollars and expected to clean up about fifty thousand 
dollars. 

It seemed like every one in the valley got the same 
notion at the same time and at harvest time cantaloupes 



68 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

poured out of Imperial Valley like water over the rocks 

at Niagara. 

The second or third shipment we made we got reports 
from New York that the most of our cantaloupes were 
rotting on the side tracks; that a few autioned off at 
ten cents per crate, not enough to pay for the boxes. 

When I received this word, I had two four-horse 
loads already to start for shipping point four miles 
distant. I turned the horses noses the other way and 
drove to the middle of my hog pasture and dumped 
several tons of choice melons in nice tissue papers, 
saving the only valuable thing about them, the boxes. 
Most every one else in the valley did the same. We 
discharged an army of pickers, packers and teamsters. 
''Business," all around was demoralized and consequent- 
ly a lot of suffering, all of which could have been 
avoided had our government then had a Genral Infor- 
mation Cabinet Member. 

In the first place Ave raised too many melons. 

In the second place we did not raise too many melons, 
as subsequent events proved to my satisfaction. 

We raised too many melons for our one horse, in- 
dividualistic ''distributing" system. The great bulk of 
our crop went to a few eastern markets while hundreds 
of markets went without their share. This was one 
reason. Another was that we were handling our melons 
through commission merchants, who, as we afterwards 
ascertained, made a practice of selling car load lots "at 
auction" to a confederate at a nominal price the price 
reported to us, who inside of a day or two would resell 
at a price several times greater than he bought for, 
making big money for themselves. 

Some of my melons, first shipment, or melons of 
the same shipment as mine, were purchased at $3.50 per 
crate a day or two after they sold for less than a dollar 
a crate, at auction. Now under government supervision 
this would not have happened. 

Our government should know just how many acres 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 69 

of melons it would probably be safe to plant and warn 
the producers, the same as our governments warns us 
regarding an approaching storm. Our government 
should know the probable condition of the melon market, 
where it is, and about what it will be. Our government 
should say to the melon growers: '*It is safe to plant 
so many acres of melons. Register early in the season, 
the number of acres you intend to plant so we may give 
the information out. Then at planting time tell us how 
many acres you are actually planting so we may inform 
others. When the danger point is reacehd we will send 
out warning not to plant any more melons, saying: 
you may follow it or go ahead and butt your own 
brains out just as you like. We do not wish to offend 
}/our 'initiative' but take our advice and keep your 
initiative out of the fire of business if you dont want 
to get it blistered." 

People would "sit up and take notice" and millions 
of dollars in energy and products would be saved each 
year as well as untold suffering, if these rules should 
be applied to all business. 

This would be a fatherly, Godly way for a govern- 
ment to enter private business. There is no question 
but what, in time, our government would take over the 
distributing system altogether, but that is for the future. 
We must grow, evolute, not rush or leap towards a 
higher civilization. 

The Christian, the politician, the capitalist and the 
one cylinder statesmen, would keep us standing still 
on one foot like a sick rooster. The Socialist and An- 
archist would plunge us head-long into the ditch. Seems 
to me there should be enough Humanitarians on earth 
to outvote them and save the world for the common 
people, to whom it rightfully belongs. Come, Humani- 
tarians, let us get together. Let us organize a church 
and educate and steer civilization in the right direction. 
Let us quit asking God and Jesus to help us so much, 
let us get in and help God and Jesus some. 



MODERN RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

The preacher gets up in his church on Sunday and 
tells of Jesus ; tells how fair, good and honest he was ; 
tells of the Golden Rule; tells what Jesus told us to do 
and pleads with us to follow Jesus and *'do as we wish 
to be done by." The choir sings and "peace on earth 
'good will to man" reigns supreme — in the church on 
Sunday. Now remember this is Sunday. Everybody 
has just had a bath and put on their clean duds and all 
are feeling ''clean and good." We all realize what a 
lovely thing Christianity is. How refining, uplifting 
and civilizing the church influence is. We all realize 
that it is the proper thing and wonder why all people 
do not become Christians and join our church and be 
good like we are — on Sundays. 

So far so good. Now what happens on Monday? 
Do these church members follow Jesus in their business 
■transactions during the week? Let us see. There is 
Mr. Jones, our new merchant, who sat in the front row 
at church on Sunday and bowed his head a little lower 
than the rest while the preacher prayed and who said 
"amen" a little louder than the rest when the preacher 
had finished. 

Mr. Jones has started a new department store in our 
town. After first looking the situation over very care- 
fully, he saw that there were enough merchants in town 
already for the volume of business transacted, as none 
of the merchants were rushed with business ; all making 
a fair living but — Mr. Jones being a better business man, 
knowing a little more, not being quite so ignorant and 
narrow as our average business man, with a little more 
capital behind him, he starts a company in which the 
preacher and many of the congregation buy stock ; which 
company proceeds to open a big store carrying a general 
line of every thing. 

Mr. Jones is on deck at his store early Monday 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 71 

morning urging- his employees to hustle and get business, 
business that formerly went to the other stores in town ; 
one of which is the little shoe store up the street run by 
Mr. Dick, a member of the same church as Mr. Jones, 
and whose wife broke her arm and is almost an invalid. 
Poor' Mr. Dick, his doom is sealed — his little shoe store 
looks deserted since Mr. Jones opened his big store and 
he does not make enough to pay rent and taxes. He 
must quit the shoe business in this town or quit it 
altogether, unless he moves to a smaller town and runs 
some financially and intellectually weaker "shoe" man 
out of business by using the same tactics that Mr. Jones 
used against him, or goes back clerking. 

In time Mr. Groceryman, Mr. Clothier and various 
other Mr. Merchants all travel the road of Mr. Dick, 
the shoeman. All of them having their personal sorrow's 
and troubles too numerous to mention besides being run 
out of business and almost pauperized by a member of 
their own church, associated in a business way with the 
preacher and many other Christian brothers and sisters. 

The secret of Mr. Jone's success, is, his superior 
intellect, his superior hustling qualities, his superior 
financial strength, which, when all combined, spelled 
success. He could sell his goods at a profit in some 
instances, placing his sale price below that which other 
smaller merchants would have to pay buying at whole- 
sale prices. What show did brother merchants have? 
Did Mr. Jones do by everybody in business as he would 
wish to be done by? Could any man do by everybody 
as he would wish to be done by in business and succeed 
under our present system? Is the Golden Rule a fraud or 
is our present economic system a fraud? No reasonable 
person can uphold both. Many selfish people will try 
to cloud the issue and throw pepper of false reasoning 
in people's mental eyes. 

Now let us see what Mr. Jones really did with the 
help of the preacher and his followers. He started a 
better store in our town and sold us better goods at 



n IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

lower prices with better service. Mr. Jones certainly 
did a majority of our people a lot of good even if he did 
climb to success walking on the dead business bodies of 
our former merchants, which was absolutely necessary 
for him to do to succeed under our present system. 
Mr. Jones pats himself on the back while thinking of 
the ''good" he has done, while filling his own pocket 
book at the same time. Mr. Jones is feeling fine, thank 
you. He feels two inches taller, he has to wear a hat 
two sizes larger, he says "Amen" a little louder and in 
fact the whole Jones family are well satisfied with 
everything in general and themselves in particular. But 
how about the fellows who were busted up and pau- 
perized byMr. Jones and his crowd. How about their 
crippled, sick and hungry children and invalid wives, 
perhaps, and a great many other perhaps's. Oh, never 
mind them, Jesus would never give those failures a 
thought; that's the kind of a fellow Jesus was? Jesus 
would praise Mr. Jones, Mr. Preacher and Mr. Christian 
Church Member for the good they did in giving so many 
people better bacon at a lower price ; that's Jesus for 
you all over? 

But hold on ! I saw a new man in town today. He 
is a little taller than Mr Jones, he wears a little larger 
hat and little better clothes. He told me that since our 
community had grown so fast it had called his attention 
this way and he intends to build an up-to-date store in 
town, ten times larger then the out-of-date Jones store. 
Mr. Jones you are doomed, your days are numbered ; 
yoii will soon be passed on, to keep company with the 
men you put out of business . "So round and round we 
run" 

One man says to me. "I see a great wrong but how 
are you going correct it?" Me correct it? What are 
you talking about? As if you or I or any one else could 
correct anything. We cannot correct it. There is 
nothing for us to correct. This is Gods way of educating 
selfish mortals. There is a lesson for us all to learn. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 73 

I think I see it and am trying to pass it along. It is 
God Almighty working to bring about a better civiliza- 
tion. It is evolution, mighty irresistable evolution, gra- 
dually flowing towards the fathomless sea of wisdom, 
the Creator Himself. Stop it, correct it? Ask something 
easy of a mortal. Ask him to turn the Mississippi river 
with his bare hands. All you or I or any human can 
do is to get out the way and not hinder, but get in 
somewhere and help in our feeble way to hasten the 
process even as we can aid nature in the growing of 
fruits and cereals, by clearing the land, cultivating, 
pruning, etc. 

Do you not see the great scheme of salvation that 
is being worked out by the Almighty for us humans? 
Do you not see the part Mr. Jones played unconsciously? 
Do you not see the part the merchants before Mr. Jones 
played? Do you not see the part the merchant after 
Mr. Jones will play and the part the next merchant will 
play also ? Do you not see the ultimate result, collective 
co-operation? This is no man-made scheme. Various 
men and sets of men, play their part, in a selfish manner, 
in various ages and pass on, ignorant of the real position 
they held temporarily in the great scheme of human 
salvation, starting with vicious individualism and ending 
in civilized brotherhood. Come people help, don't 
hinder. 

The world is ready for another decided step forword. 
We should take it. We should not hinder. The step 
will be taken sooner or later, we can hasten it. But to 
take it we must brighten the intellect of the great com- 
mon people and curb our own selfishness. We must 
all "do as we wish to be done by." 

The "spirit of God is moving over the waters of 
thought" of earth, causing mighty mental waves that 
are lashing into activity the most dormant minds of an 
extremely materialistic age. The Infinite is clearing 
away mental rubbish preparatory to laying a foundation 
for a better race of men. The Master Builder is at work, 



74 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

and what seems to us chaos and confusion is but the 
orderly gathering of material and workmen to carry 
on the great scheme of evolution of mankind in the only 
way in which it can be done. We are all privileged to 
help, but God pity him who hinders. 

The great war, caused by wrong thinking, has done 
much to clear our mental atmosphere. Nothing but 
brute force will teach brutal men. The war has taught 
men some things that they would learn in no way 
other than knocking them down, and then telling them 
what to do afterwards. 

When men are masters the teachings of Jesus sound 
weak and silly to them. When they become slaves and 
are knocked down a few times and kicked for falling, 
they then begin to see the beauty and philosophy in 
*'do as you wish to be done by." 

When men are rich and powerful they begin to 
dispute about "who is going to be boss." After they kill 
off several million of themselves they begin to wonder 
what Jesus meant when he said ''if thy neighbor demand 
thy coat, give him thy cloak also." They begin to see 
wisdom in the sayings of "the son of man who had 
nowhere to lay his head." They begin to realize that a 
high order of serving is better than a low order of 
bossing, any time. 



EDUCATION AND CRIME 

People are of more importance than dollars, religions 
and governments, and when these man-made institutions 
do not serve the best interest of the great mass or 
majority of people, these institutions should be reformed. 
In order to have better religions and better governments 
we must necessarily have better individuals and there 
is only one way to make them better and that is proper 
education. They must be induced to think correctly 
for themselves instead of believing all they hear. 

All of us have those above us and those below us. 
We should copy from those above us and teach and 
help those below us. We should not boast that we are 
better than others but rather be of humble mind "like 
John Wesley, who, looking at the) poor drunkard in the 
gutter, said :" "But for the grace of God, there lies John 
Wesley." 

It seems to me that the average human is a potential 
criminal. All that is necessary to make a criminal, or 
what we call a criminal, out of the average person is 
to make the temptation or aggravation great enough. 
For instance, take the average Christian gentlemen or 
lady for that matter, who knows that it is wrong to 
steal and place, them in a cold barren dungeon with no 
food and stripped of clothing, in which, or near which, 
is stored plenty of food and clothing unguarded and be- 
longing to a disinterested person. Now let me ask how 
many well fed, clothed and housed people, placed in 
a dungeon as above described, would not take, yes steal, 
enough food and clothing to meet immediate needs. 
How many of you would starve to death and go com- 
pletely naked while doing said starving, rather than 
steal ? 

Some may say: "Oh that is different. If I were a 
creature of circumstances over which I had no control 
my acts would be justifiable." May be not. It might be 



76 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

just possible that it was partly your own fault being so 
cast into this dungeon. It is just possible that had you 
exerted a little more strength against your captors or 
used a little more intelligent strategy you might have 
over powered or outwited them and escapea. 

Any way, if you are allowed to use this argument 
in your hypothetical defense, real criminals should be 
allowed to use the same arguments in defense of stealing. 
You take people practically devoid of spirituality, with 
very limited mentality, who can not possibly think deep 
or straight, who never think much about anything but 
their own desires and immediate wants, and natural 
necessities, who are cast into what seems to them a 
bleak dungeon of want, that is as far as they are con- 
cerned, with others around them rolling in luxury — by 
the superior mental and financial strength surrounding 
them, against which they could not contend, or against 
which they thought they could not contend — (which 
amounts practically to the same thing) and what is the 
result? Crime, or what we call crime. Now you law 
abiding, potential criminals should not censure these 
real everyday criminals for doing just what you would 
do under the same circumstances. 

You might say: Had this man, who stole bread and 
clothing to satisfy his hunger and keep his body warm, 
worked harder and been more saving he would not have 
needed to steal when he was out of work. Or you 
might say he would not work if work was furnished 
him. You might say a great deal against him that 
would be all too true. But admitting all that, he became 
a criminal because the temptation was great enough for 
his mentality. The temptation might necessarily have 
to be a thousand times greater to cause you to fall. 
But few people will fail to fall when the choice is be- 
tween death by starvation or what they believe to be 
such, and falling. Of course, some fall too early. They 
are the diseased ones — morally diseased — and should be 
treated as such. Now what we should do, is make 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 77 

conditions and environment better, and we will grow 
better people. -. We may not entirely eliminate bad 
people, but we will greatly lessen their number. Some 
people are born criminals and would commit crime on 
time rather than do the right thing for cash, but their 
number is not large and this class of people should be 
dealt with firmly and humanely, eliminating mushy 
sentimentality. The more idle people, the harder times 
are, the more stealing, hold ups, etc. There should be 
no idle people who want and need work and no hard 
times ; they are both absolutely unnecessary and would 
not exist under a correct economic system. 

Crime, or most of it at any rate, is a disease brought 
on to a great extent by unjust religions, unjust economic 
systems and unjust governments, and its only real re- 
medy is education ; education whose tendency is to make 
the Golden Rule a living rule and fact instead of a 
beautiful theory. The day must come when we all 
shall much prefer helping our neighbor in business, to 
robbing him. We must quit going through life with 
our faces towards the past and our backs towards the 
future. There is none of us so high but what there are 
some above us and none so low but what there are 
some below us. 

Remembering that what we are is not a credit to 
us, that had our ancestors been Hottentots, we would be 
Hottentots also ; that what we think and do is what 
counts. And what we think and do depends on what 
other people thought and did before us ; on the ideals 
of our ancestors, their environment and their education. 
And what future civilization is to be depends largely 
on what we of to-day think and do. 

Human greed and lust for power working through 
religion, economics and governments, cunningly work- 
ing upon the ignorance and prejudice of human nature, 
is the greatest enemy of human liberty and human 
progress. The weapons used are fear, superstition, sar- 
casm, ridicule and sophistry. "Ignorance is the chain 



78 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

that binds the mental as well as the physical in bondage." 
To have better religions, better economic systems 
and better governments, we must have better individuals. 
And to have better individuals we must educate them. 
To educate them properly and cause them to do correct 
thinking will bring universal peace to the world. But 
how are we to do this? 

It is my opinion that it can be done in no other way 
than by the churches ; by reforming our present 
churches ; by our present preachers quiting their sky 
piloting, and doing some earth piloting; or by starting 
a new church movement designed to become world 
wide, following "teachers" instead of ''preachers." 

It is the human desire of one person or set of persons 
to rule over and enslave another person or set of persons, 
that must be fought. The desire had its beginning 
when some prehistoric man took a rock or club and 
brained his neighbor, drank his blood and ate his flesh 
and then appropiated the wife and belongmgs of his 
victim. It is the desire of one individual to triumph over 
and enslave another and appropriate what rightfully be- 
longs to another. Civilized men to-day do practically the 
same thing in a more gentlemanly, civilized manner ; 
in a more refined and polite manner. 

It is slavery in a more subtle form than old crude 
physical slavery; it is more civilized slavery, economic 
slavery, practiced by individuals, sets of individuals and 
by nations and sets of nations. They do unto others 
not as they wish to be done by. This is the trait in 
human nature that Jesus tried to tame and curb but 
succeeded no better than a single man trying to control 
a tornado. There is no such thing as a ''Christian nation" 
or a Christian business firm, on earth to-day and mighty 
few Christian people, speaking in the broader sense. 
People who live a Christian life. People who do as they 
wish to be done by in business on week days as well as 
in church on Sundays. 

I tell you it is impossible to be a true Christian in 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 79 

our world today and live and fare much better than Jesus 
did. He tried it and paid with his life. And if you or 
any one attempts it, you will pay with your business 
life. Modern business men and modern governments, 
have no use for Jesus, his doctrine or his methods, yet 
they profess to have. If they did have, and tried to 
practice the methods of Jesus they would bust up in 
business ; they could not compete with others unless 
others did the same. It is the old, old story of men getting 
what they do not earn, what they do not produce with 
brain or hands. In olden days they took it by brute force. 
Today they take it through cunning laws and customs, 
by financial strength and trickery, by "interest on 
money" and other methods. 

In order to stop it we must rearrange our laws and 
customs. We must change our ideas. We must do 
some clear and straight thinking. We must start right. 
Get down to first principles and nevei^ forget our ideals 
in actual everyday affairs if we wish to correct the 
injustice that causes so much trouble and we wish to 
have real everlasting peace on earth. If we will follow 
just one simple rule, the Golden Rule, to its logical 
conclusion in all our affairs it w'ill bring us real peace 
on earth, nothing else will. In the business of the world 
this rule is not practiced by men, firms or nations. They 
all preach it to others but ignore it themselves. 

If you were in business, had a nice little store, was 
doing well, would you like to have another' person open 
the same kind of a store near you and take away your 
customers and put you into bankruptcy? Don't we all 
do it or try to do it? Business as now conducted is a 
hog eat hog game. Not a game for real Christian 
gentlemen to play. 

If you were China would you like to have a lot of 
Christian nations and a heathen nation, quarreling over 
which was going to get the biggest slice of you? How 
would you, as an American citizens, like to hear a lot of 
foreign nations, most of them professed Christian nations 



80 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

quarreling over which was g'oing to get the biggest slice 
of our America? Our own nation does not follow the 
Golden Rule in dealing with other nations, lit dare 
not, it could not do it and live. It would soon be hanging 
to a cross as Jesus did if it tried it. This is a deplorable 
state of affairs but it is a fact nevertheless and it is time 
we recognized it as a fact and started in to correct it. 
It can be corrected and will be corrected. But it must 
be corrected by the great mass of the people of all 
nations of earth, working together, through a new world 
movement directed towards that end, justice on earth 
and universal peace. The common people of earth must 
work! out their own salvation. Their leaders will never 
do it. The masses must be educated to work out their 
own problems and the church is the proper and only 
place to educate and prepare the people for universal 
peace on earth. That it can be done there is no question. 
But it will take considerable time as our whole economic 
system must be reorganized so as tq deal out justice to 
all. 

The great common people of earth can bring per- 
manent peace on earth. No other earthly power can 
do it. No man or nation alone can correct these evils, 
they are world wide. They are world problems and 
must be settled by the great common people of earth. 
And a movement must be started by which the people 
can be combined first for enlightenment and education 
and then for action. 

In my opinion this movement to succeed must be 
a church movement as I believe that no other movement 
or organization could ever reach, consolidate and hold 
in an unprejudiced body, the great common people of 
earth to study and correct these great economic evils, 
the evils that are causing strikes and lock outs at home 
and wars between nations. 

I believe that it should necessarily be a new church 
movement, a movement outside of our present churches 
to combine the intelligent and progressive people inside 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 81 

of our present churches with the same element out side 
of our present churches. We must get all good, well 
meaning people together where they can talk and think- 
these great questions over in an unbiased manner. This 
could never be done in a political organization or in 
superstitious, religious churches, such as a majority of 
present day churches are. The intelligent people outside 
of our present churches will never work with them as 
long as they drink the blood of Jesus. 

It must be a new church movement which the present 
churches may join later on, that will act as a cementer 
of the people instead of a divider. It must be a church 
that leaves each member free to choose his or her own 
religion and thoughts of the world to come, while la- 
boring with his or her neighbors to better conditions 
in this present life regardless of his or her neighbors 
views regarding God, Heaven and a future life. 

Trade or business, causes all our modern wars and 
domestic disturbance. The first cause Is always the 
desire of one person or set of persons to get the best 
of another person or set of persons which causes the 
aggrieved to strike back. 

The row between capital and labor never will be 
settled until all capitalists are laborers and all laborers 
are capitalists and under a correct economic system this 
would naturaly be the case as a correct system will 
make a man earn all he gets and allow a man to get all 
he earns. 

There are a great many reasons why this is not the 
case under our present system. One reason is that 
there are too many non-producers ; too many people 
who never produce or assist in producing anything, but 
are always consuming what other people produce with- 
out giving an equivalent. We have too many bums 
riding on the backs of the producers. Too many people 
who do not earn all they get and are wrongfully taking 
from the people who do not get all they earn. We 
have too many who do not earn practically anything, 



82 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

but enjoy the very best of the good things of this life. 
We have too many lawyers, too many preachers, too 
many real estate agents, too many politicians and too 
many soldiers and sailors. All these people must be fed, 
clothed, housed and cared for by the producers, by the 
men and women who use their brains and hands to 
produce and provide. If we should adopt an economic 
system that would set all this non-producing population 
to producing it would be better for everybody. 

Another reason why justice under our present econo- 
mic system is denied to so many is the idea of raising the 
importance of the dollar and giving it a position it does 
not deserve. 

Everything we need that Nature has not provided 
is produced by men and women, by hands and brains. 
Dollars do not work and produce anything. They are 
not real capital, they merely represent real capital as 
a deed represents a piece of land. When a capitalist 
starts into business he takes his dollars and trades them 
for land, buildings, tools and men's labor. What the 
men produce is really valuable not the dollars them- 
selves. The dollars merely represent real valuables, 
food, clothing, etc. If you do not believe this 
imagine yourself out on a glazier in Alaska in a storm 
without food, clothing or shelter, but with a million dol- 
lars, and then decide which has the real, intrinsic value, 
the dollars or the things dollars represent; the things 
that dollars will buy; food, clothing, bedding, shelter, 
etc. 

Now in our present economic system, dollars are 
exalted to the high estate of men and women, placed 
side by side with producers, and given the credit of 
producing, and allowed to take a share of what is pro- 
duced; the biggest share usually. This is wrong. 
Dollars should be servants of all men and women, not 
their equals and masters. 



TITLE INSURANCE GRAFT 

One of the biggest grafts of the "money changers," 
the people who have their money ''work" for them, is 
the title graft. 

Our state governments could furnish its cititzens 
certificates of title and guarantee them for one tenth of 
what our citizens now pay to private corporations that 
are weak financially when compared with our states, 
were our state governments given a monoply. This has 
been proven. There are several reason for this, one 
reason is that our present system is wasteful and employs 
three or four men where only one man would be neces- 
sary, under state supervision. All large title companies 
keep a complete record of all property transfers in their 
particular territory and three or four companies usually 
cover the same territory. The state or county has the 
original record which under state supervision would be 
all that is necessary, and quite an army of people doing 
unnecessary work for our present title companies could 
be released to do some useful productive work. This 
would take a lot more people off of the backs of our 
producers and not only lighten the producers loads but 
these new producers would help the old producers carry 
the lightened burden. What would the title companies 
do then? Simply go out of the graft business the same 
as the saloons did v/hen the time came, the same as 
private banks will do when the time comes. No one 
who has been stung by them would mourn and nearly 
everybody has been stung whether they realize it or 
not. 

There has been a great many unsuccessful attempts 
made to curb the greed of title companies, a conspicious 
one of which was the Torrens Act of California, under 
which the state furnishes a better title at about one 
tenth the charge made by the title companies. "Money 
changers" could not prevent the passage of the law but 



84 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

they practically killed the law after it was duly enacted. 
How did they do it? Very simple. It shows the power 
of our ''invisible empire." It shows their cunning, subtle 
way of placing themselves above the law and making 
their will, law, without the formality of Legislatures. 
They got together and had a gentlemens agreement 
not to loan money on a certificate issued by the state. 
They say the law is defective. They say many things 
that are only partially true or wholly untrue. But we 
notice that the ''money changers" are doing nothing to 
help make the law perfect, so the people will be able 
to get a better certificate of title from the state in the 
future for one dollar than they pay the "money changers" 
ten dollars for, now. You see "money changers" own 
the stock in title companies and they are not going to aid 
a movement to put title companies out of business by 
loaning money on state certificates. Simple enough. 

Don't blame the money changers blame yourselves 
for allowing these things to exist. It is your ignorance 
that they feed on. Speaking from a financial point of 
view there are but two kinds of people on earth, "money 
changers" and would-be "money changers." We will 
have to get out in the open and look ourselves over as 
well as our neighbors and agree to be fair with others if 
we expect others to be fair with us. We must all put 
away forever, the idea of getting something for nothing. 
The banker, the title man, the speculator and the mer- 
chant, when not engaged in robbing each other, all 
rob the actual producer, he in turn robs the hired man 
and the hired man kicks the dog while awaiting his 
opportunity to rob some one, which rarely comes unless 
he takes a gun and masks and starts in business for 
himself. And then we all shout : "Crime Wave !" 

We are all in it, we all pay heavy interest when we 
purchase necessities and if we do not charge interest 
when we have a chance, we begin to sink rapidly into 
Bunyons Slough of Despond where we would be no good 
to ourselves or any one else. We are in Rome and we 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 85 

have sense enough, I hope, to do as Rome does until 
Rome changes. No one or one thousand men can change 
our economic system and no one but a crank will think 
he can. This is a job for a God to do. We mortals can 
all help or hinder some. I intend to help if I can, all I 
can. I think I see the cause and cure of many of our 
troubles I may be right and I may be wrong, time will 
tell. I think I am right. 

One man said to me : **You would have our govern- 
ment doing everything, bringing you a drink of water in 
the night, you'd make a regular monkey out of our 
government, you would." 

Well, now really, it seems to me that others before my 
time have done a lot towards causing our government to 
arrive at the ideals I am accused of desiring for it. 

In the first place the City of Los Angeles does bring 
me a drink of water in the night whenever I desire it, 
as well as any time in the day also. Not only this, but 
it brings me water to sprinkle a lawn and water a garden, 
it brings my chickens and cow a drink whenever they 
want it. It brings all this water between two and three 
hundred miles and delivers it to me for a trifle over one 
dollar per month. Now do you suppose a person or 
private corporation, could or would do this for me at that 
price, or five times that price, if there was no competition 
or restraining authority over the person or corporation? 
Is the City of Los Angeles doing what it should not do 
in "bringing me a drink of water in the night?" At 
what it costs the City to do it? Why shouldn't the 
state make me a certificate of title for what it costs the 
state? Why shouldn't the government loan me money 
on good security at actual cost to the government? 
Why shouldn't the government aid and encourage me 
all it can at cost to the government, to make me a better, 
wiser and more substantial citizen? Why shouldn't a 
government act fatherly towards its citizens, taking an 
intelligent and helpful interest in them, instead of acting 
in a cold, brutal manner towards them? You may say 



86 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

it does act fatherly at present. It educates them, pro- 
tects them from the physically strong and punishes them 
when they go wrong and performs various other services 
for them too numerous to mention. 

Now I admit all this, and use it as an argument why 
it should do more for us, and improve our condition, 
especially the condition of the needy, and we have mil- 
lions of them, who under a better government than we 
have at present would not be needy. We have a good 
government, the best on earth, yes ! Now let us have 
a better government. If the great common people of 
America will it so, it will happen immediately. Let us 
see how money direct to its citizens without interest 
other than actual cost of furnishing the money would 
work. 

Under our present system a young man gets married, 
having enough money to purchase a lot, he builds a 
house and mortgages the lot and house to pay for the 
house. He starts paying interest at from 7 to 10% 
and, under the most favorable circumstances, he will be 
years paying out. Of course a great deal depends upon 
the man, his ability to acquire and save money as well 
as on luck, accident, sickness, hard times, etc. But I 
venture to say that in the average case no man will have 
worked for and paid for his home in full until he has 
worked for and paid for a half a home in interest. He 
gets the home and the money lender gets the half a home 
through interest on money, without working for it. Now 
wouldn't it be a better state of society in which the 
young man got his home and the half a home as a 
surplus for educating his family, or for a rainy day or 
old age, and the money lender would have to work for 
all the homes or half-a-home's he got? How much nicer 
it would be for the man who works. He would shake 
off the drone, the man who shirks. 

One man asked : "What would people do with their 
money if they couldn't get interest on it." 

Oh fudge ! Use it to buy things with, the same as 
we do now. Don't quit the game just because you are 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 87 

not allowed to use loaded dice. People have been using 
money so long to rob each other with that they can't 
think of anything else but robbery in connection with 
money. 

We must first get straight and clear what money 
really is or what it should be, rather, and then not forget 
it when we consider complicated business transactions. 

Money is, or should be, nothing more or less than a 
bookkeeping system, which enables people to store up, 
hold, exchange, divide and use utilities readily, while al- 
lowing the government a chance to draw its support from 
the people in an equitable manner. The volume of 
money should never have any effect on the price of 
utilities, as the volume should be kept scientifically at 
the proper amount for the volume of business trans- 
acted. 

Now this would be a very simple matter under a 
scientific, governmental monetary system, but absolutely 
impossible under our present system. 

Under our present system a little "scare" and a large 
proportion of our "medium of exchange" is withdrawn 
indefinitely from circulation over night, by the owners, 
and prices are greatly affected. There is a remedy and 
a simple one. Under government ownership and control 
of money, the "scare" would not be apt to develop and 
the government could easily stop it if it did, unless it 
was caused by war or some similar rare event. 



GOVERNMENT 

When we of today think of government, we must 
necessarily too often think of a big burly brutal police- 
man with clubs and guns lording it over the well 
meaning citizen who leaves his auto at the curb a little 
too long or commits some other technical ''crime" while 
real criminals are doing a rushing business unhampered 
by our police. We must necessarily think too much of 
armies, navies, wars, killing and insolent "authority" 
domineering over its creators, murdering them at will 
and causing them to murder others and destroy property. 

We can and must change this. In the distant future 
when posterity thinks of government they will think of 
a father stern but kind and noble. Stern when its citi- 
zens do what all well meaning people concede to be 
wrong, and kind when its citizens do the best they can, 
whatever that may be ; taking a humane interest in the 
welfare of all its citizens and planning for their better- 
ment. Using its great organizing power to raise armies 
to fight disease, to fight poverty and banish from earth 
the fear of it, to fight ignorance and crime in an intelli- 
gent manner instead of raising armies to kill people. 
A government that will aid men to build and beautify 
homes instead of a government spending billions to de- 
stroy homes, compelling its citizens to kill and cripple 
citizens of other governments and then turning a cold 
shoulder to its maimed and crippled soldiers when in 
need ; leaving them to shift for themselves getting dough- 
nuts from the Salvation Army, bandages from the Red 
Cross, and what little sympathy they can from public 
charity. A government that can and will aid its worthy 
citizens financially instead of a government when in 
trouble, that will urge and force its citizens to buy its 
bonds "until it hurts," and then allow those bonds to be 
dragged through the gutter by the money changers, 
aye, and the government actually sharing in the financial 
benefit derived from the depreciating of its own bonds 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 89 

held by its citizens who bought bonds "until it hurts," 
while politicians roll in luxury. 

Our present government loves its politicians, our 
future government will love its common citizens, the 
more helpless the citizen the greater will be the evidence 
of the love. We must look to the better element of the 
women voters of the world to help put a heart and 
conscience in our governments. The men left to them- 
selves will never do it. Intelligence and will alone are 
not enough. It may take a long time to educate the 
women enough to cause them to see their opportunity 
and duty. But they, with the help of a few men are 
the hope of the future. Make the issue a religious one 
and a woman's natural tendency towards all things re- 
ligious will bring a better civilization in spite of the 
male tendency to triumph over and play lord of all he 
surveys, regardless of the rights of other God made 
creatures. 

No part of our government needs reforming more 
than our courts. They are, to a large extent, courts of 
injustice. An honest peaceable gentleman or lady stands 
but little chance of obtaining justice in our courts when 
confronted by a dishonest tricky, fighting opponent who 
has money enough to hire an able but unprincipaled 
lawyer. 

No one expects real honesty in a lawyer. No one 
expects a lawyer to refuse a case and forego a fat fee 
because he knows his client to be a dishonest wretch who 
is trying to use the courts to help him rob some one 
through a technicality. We have a few honest lawyers. 

Our courts are crowded with cases that were filed 
for the sole purpose of robbing or blackmailing some one. 
There is a way to stop it. But do not expect a set of 
hungry, morally deficient lawyers to help stop it. They 
faten on the injustice of our courts. 

Before the people can stop all this injustice, the people 
themselves must get away from certain fundamental, 
superstitious delusions and childish fancies. 



90 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

The people must get the dishonest idea of getting 
something for nothing out of their minds. They must 
get rid of the thought of getting rich through gambling 
or an inheritance. They must depend on study, thought, 
work and thrift for wordly prosperity. They must cease 
dreaming of being transformed from criminality to in- 
nocense, from disease to health, from poverty to wealth, 
from idiocy to intelligence from incompetency to pro- 
ficiency, or from a degraded earth life to an exalted 
heavenly life in an instant. We will all be the same 
imperfect beings the next day after death that we were 
the day before our death. 

We must study and try to learn more about, and 
follow as near as can, the laws of nature, human nature 
as well. 

We must progress and evolute, not hop, skip and 
jump up to an environment that we would not be fit to 
live in on account of not being innately worthy. A hog 
would not be a success in a parlor. Neither would we 
be a success in heaven until we deserved it ; until we 
progessed up to it, even as a tree grows towards heaven. 

Humanity is growing and our earthly laws, customs 
and institutions must be remodeled to meet the situation. 

Humanity has outgrown its present clothes and 
stands to-day, man grown or nearly so, wearing its 
nursery garments; one half of it sucking the bottle of 
Sabbath keeping, superstitious, revealed religion, while 
the other or a large portion of it in our own America 
at least, sucks home brew, nacrotics and cigaretts. 

The silly religionists must quit it, and the booze and 
narcotic fiends must quit it. 

I belong to neither class, but, were it absolutely 
necessary for me to join one side or the other in order 
to live my present life through, I would join the home 
brew crowd, as I consider them the least of the two evils. 
They certainly have more generosity and kindly humane 
feeling in their hearts than do the bigoted, selfish reli- 
gionists who are trying to make mental slaves of us and 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 91 

take the sun out of our Sunday while scattering gloom 
like a mammoth grave cloth of a man-made god, over our 
beautiful earth. 

Nearly all our earthly affairs need some "fixing." 
Our mariage and divorce laws need attention. It is too 
easy to make a contract of marriage, the theory of which 
is that death alone can cancel. And too hard for two 
mismated people to be separated, especially where there 
are no children to be wronged by the separation. When 
no children are concerned the separation should be more 
the business of the two parties themselves, than that of 
other people. The law should not compel any two to 
marry or compel any two to stay married when no 
children are involved. If this were the case there would 
be a whole lot less inharmony on earth. But when people 
have children they assume responsibilities that they 
should not be allowed to shirk even though they must 
suffer greatly in carrying a burden they willingly 
shouldered. The interests of the innocent should be 
considered first. 

Marriage should be made harder, much harder than 
it is at present. And divorce easier when no children 
are to suffer from the separation. People who are not 
congenial and harmonious together, should be allowed 
to seperate without either becoming a criminal as at 
present. 

If marriage was made harder there would be less 
divorces, that is, if they were made harder in the right 
way; in a way so that the parties would become better 
acquainted. People marrying who do not really know 
each other causes the most of our matrimonial troubles. 



ONE CAUSE OF THE LATE WAR 

The late world war was caused by wrong thinking. 
The world allowed brutal men to run the affairs of earth 
and bowed down to and honored their brutality. Such, 
men as Alexander and Napoleon, men who had an insane 
desire to rule the world and crush under their feet any 
one who opposed them. The world has too long honored 
them, when in fact these men were the personification 
of murder, brutality and lust. Love of humanity was 
foreign to their natures. They were the despoilers of 
homes. They made multitudes of orphans and widows, 
and filled the ground with the bodies of the best men of 
earth. They tore down in a day what thousands of other 
men built up with years of weary toil. They robbed 
the weak and helpless on a mammoth scale. They were 
international criminals, but were honored, greatly 
honored, we honored them and taught our children to 
honor them. We praised them in school books. This 
was all wrong. Our honoring them misleads other am- 
bitious men and gives them the wrong idea of greatness. 
If Alexander and Napoleon, as well as others like them, 
had been pictured to be the criminals that they were, 
other men would not be so war like today. We of today 
had to fight simply because a few men wanted to rule 
the world. They were trying to out do Alexander and 
Napoleon, a wrong thinking worlds greatest heroes. Had 
these men been hung as they should have been and had 
the world been taught that any man or set of men who 
tries to intimidate the world, should be dealt with as 
dangerous criminals, the world war would not have 
been fought. Ambitous men would be exerting their 
energies to build, not destroy, to make homes happy 
not to bring death and cripples to them. It is a human 
weakness to crave honor, great honor, and what the 
world honors, men will strive for, will lay down their 
lives for. 

Ideas run the world and a bad idea is more dangerous 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 93 

then a gun or a plague circulating through the land. 
No permanent peace can come until the world adopts 
the "live and let live" policy, the "do as you wish to be 
done by rule" ; until we quit being proud of wholesale 
murderers. The attitude we should take towards the 
killing that our boys did do, is not one of pride but one of 
sorrow. We should be sorry that it is and was necessary 
for them to kill. We should look on it as an unpleasant 
duty they performed for us and our attitude towards 
them should be one of gratitude, not heartless indiffer- 
ence. We should feel sad because it was necessary for 
them to murder and destroy. We should not be proud 
of it but rather teach them to be sorry that it was neces- 
sary. Teach them that it was necessary because we older 
people made it necessary through wrong thinking and 
neglect to curb vicious teaching and vicious men in time. 

Before this earth can be made safe for democracy 
it must be made unsafe for brutality. Before we can 
expect humane action we must plant humane ideas. We 
must cease teaching our children that men who kill are 
great. The world is guilty of honoring the brutes that 
the Kaiser patterned from. We must do some real hard 
thinking now that the fighting is over for a spell. This 
war raised up a new crop of heroes. Let us give them a 
sane and enlightended appriciation and not a blind and 
superstitious homage. Selfish and designing men pro- 
pagate wrong ideas in politics, religion and every day 
affairs. The next great war will be a battle of ideas. 

We must propagate new and better ideas if we want 
better conditions. 



JESUS OF NAZARETH 

We should study the teachings of the world's greatest 
leaders, Jesus of Nazareth, Confucius, Guatama and 
others. The best of their teachings put into practice, will 
bring world peace and prosperity. Few, if any, leaders 
who ever lived on this earth since our present written 
history began, can approach these moral giants in wis- 
dom. Their best thought put into everyday practice will 
save the world. The trouble is few people of earth know 
what these men really taught. The fact is they all taught 
practically the same thing in substance, especially in 
regard to morality, man's duty to man. They were great 
and good men, the world's greatest. But they were all 
men, not gods, and the preponderance of evidence at our 
command proves that none of them ever claimed to be 
a god, and the writings that put such words in their 
mouths, embarass and slander them, thereby lessening 
their power for good on earth among enlightened and 
thinking people. The history of their own doings and 
sayings proves this to an unbiased, thinking person 
who takes the trouble to investigate. They were born 
as other men are born, grew as other men grow, in both 
body and mind, changing their views and opinions from 
time to time. As they grew older, of course, they became 
wiser, greater and better. It is too bad that Jesus could 
not have lived longer. At first he distinctly stated his 
Gospel was not for the Gentiles. At that time Jesus 
was narrow ; a patriotic Jew, but the persecution by his 
own people, evidently drove him to broaden out and 
include all of humanity in his program. 

The Bible accounts of Jesus are so contradictory 
and ambiguous regarding his teachings that it is hard 
for anyone to be positive of just what Jesus did say or 
do. Hence the endless arguments and disagreements 
when people read the accounts without first putting 
blind, uneducated faith where reason should be. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 95 

The coming of Jesus on earth did not change it much 
for the better. Before he came, people were good to their 
friends, killed their enemies and robbed each other when- 
ever they thought they could get away with it. Since 
the coming of Jesus about the same thing happens right 
along, with the possible difference that a good deal of 
the robbing and killing nowadays is done in the name 
of Jesus. 

Jesus was a great moral teacher who originated, as 
far as he was concerned, or repeated what those born 
hundreds of years before him taught, it makes no differ- 
ence which; we must follow his main teachings or never 
have universal peace on earth. Nothing but his teachings 
or the best part of his teachings, put into everyday 
practice will stop wars. 

We must not do as Jesus did, nor must we do all 
that Jesus is supposed to have told us to do. We should 
not follow the words and teachings that were put into 
the mouth of Jesus after he was dead, by designing 
priests. Neither must we literally follow Jesus ; that is, 
do as he did. Simply because it cannot be done. To 
begin with we would all remain single and no children 
would be born on earth, which would annihilate the 
human race inside of a century. 

Next, we would all be traveling preachers, living 
off of others and producing nothing ourselves ; storing 
up nothing for the morrow on this earth ; but we would 
be going ragged, hungry and cold while storing up treas- 
ures in heaven, after deserting our fathers and mothers, 
our wives and children as the mythical Jesus of the 
Gospels commanded (words of priests, not of Jesus). 

We would not resist evil. "Resist ye not evil." (words 
of priests only, to cause people to submit to injustice 
practiced by kings, nobles and priests.) We would dis- 
charge all the police forces and allow the evil minded to 
abuse our wives and families. I say the man or woman 
or book that says Jesus of Nazareth ever uttered any 
such nonsense is deliberately falsifying or is greatly 



96 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

mistaken. I am not sure that Jesus really needs me to 
do so, but I am going to stand up for him, I am going 
to take his part against these people who are trying to 
make out that Jesus was a divine idiot. No sane person 
will say: "resist ye not evil", and mean what he says. 
Jesus fought evil with all his power, like a red blooded 
sane man, taking the Bible for it. If we judge Jesus by 
all the Bible says of him, he flatly contradicts himself. 
He was evidently too wise and good a man to do this, 
therefore I do not belive all the Bible says of him. 

According to the Bible Jesus utterly ignored human 
slavery which was universal at his time. Had Jesus no 
pity for the poor galley slave chained to his oar for 
life? I believe he did have and I believe so great and good 
a man as Jesus, condemned such slavery with all the 
force he could command but why is it not recorded? 
Ask the shades of those ancient priests who manipulated 
our religion in its early stages, they know why. Had 
Jesus no pity for the victims of white slavery that pre- 
vailed everywhere in his day? Again ask the priests 
why his protest was not recorded. Had Jesus no pity 
for the mother and babies made fatherless and perhaps 
homeless through his supposed "command" to the father 
to forsake them and follow Jesus? And again ask the 
priests why this went into our Bibles this way. 

The father who would desert his loving wife and 
helpless babes to follow any man or any man-made god, 
is certainly a demon and an imbecile. 

Then what did Jesus say? It is almost impossible for 
a sane thinking person to answer this question, as Jesus 
was an uneducated man and evidently could not write. 
Had he been a God he could have written anything in 
any language and it is reasonable to suppose that he 
would have written had he been able to do so, instead 
of trusting to luck to have his words transmitted down 
the ages. He would have known that he would be mis- 
quoted, misjudged and misunderstood, and would have 
placed his sayings on parchment, or stone or metal, in 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 97 

language so plain that any normal person could under- 
stand what he meant. But the facts are, if we are allowed 
to use our reason, that he was not a god, not even an 
"educated" man as we understand the word ; that he was 
a wandering, homeless, churchless preacher, a political 
and moral outcast of his time, a tender-hearted man, 
overflowing with pity for common humanity ; an honest, 
earnest uneducated man, with wonderful natural ability 
as a thinker and moral teacher of the human race ; one 
of those rare characters appearing on earth at widely 
separated periods of time. 

Jesus as a man was a success ; he was humane ; he 
was grand ; but Jesus as a god was a failure. Physically 
speaking, he was a weakling. Imagine a god nailed to 
a cross by human demons with blood streaming down 
his body, and being tortured into admitting that he was 
not a god when uttering the words "My God, My God, 
why hast thou forsaken me?" 

Does this picture excite your admiration. Would 
you like to see such enacted in real life. What can a 
reasonable person get out of such a picture but "pity", 
and hatred ; pity for one of the greatest and best men 
who ever lived, and hatred for his tormentors. I cannot 
admire the picture. I cannot admire Jesus as a god, who 
would allow his creatures to become so debased as to 
murder their own Creator. I do not think it is a beautiful 
picture at all. I think it is terrible ; and I think any 
human who would desire to have such a monstrous thing 
happen then, now, or at any time, is a monster. It is on 
a par with the ancient Christian custom of burning 
witches at the stake. And I, for one, am not proud of 
Jesus hanging on the cross. It seems a terrible thing to 
me. I pity him from the depth of my heart and I hate 
and abhor the devils in human form that would and did 
commit the crime of nailing Jesus to the cross. You say 
it was "God's plan?" You slander God. 

It seems to me that any mortal that would be willing 
to take a benefit from the fact of Jesus being murdered 



98 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

on the cross is supremely selfish, to put it mildly. I had 
rather be lost than to have a grand and good man mur- 
dered that myself and others could be saved. The idea 
is hideous and repulsive to me. I hold that anyone who 
will wish to be sayed through the murder of Jesus must 
be now glad that Jesus was murdered. And a person 
who is glad Jesus was murdered deserves either pity 
or censure. The Roman soldiers took a benefit they 
"divided his raiment." I cannot see where we of today 
would be any better, should we take a benefit, than the 
Roman soldiers, if we accept a place in heaven because of, 
or through the murder of Jesus. I believe that in the 
sight of the Almighty we would be just as contemptable 
as the Roman soldiers. I, for one, cannot accept a re- 
served seat in heaven bought with the blood of Jesus, the 
murder of Jesus, or any other human. I could not live 
happy in heaven stained with the blood of any one, let 
alone one of the grandest men on earth. If this be 
religious "treason, make the most of it." 

We are too credulous. We have ,been a)ccepting 
without question too long what our leaders have been 
dealing out to us. What they have been telling us about 
religion, about economics and about various other things. 
We must do more thinking ourselves. Especially on 
religious matters as religion is the foundation of all 
human affairs. When a man or nation goes wrong, blame 
his or its religion. It will be because religion failed to 
teach what was right. And if you want to reform a man 
or a nation, reform his or its religion, and everything 
else will be easy. 

One of our main defects, is our tendency to scorn 
anything new and worship anything antique or ancient in 
ideas. If I, or anyone else, should tell you, that I had 
seen God, or that I had walked and talked with God, or 
that God or God's angels, had given me commandments 
to transmit to the people of earth, I, or anyone else, 
making such statements, would be discredited by all 
intelligent thinking people of our time. But many of 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 99 

these same people readily believe, as exact truth, such 
things, when stated in writtings of ancient times ; evid- 
ence that would not be allowed in any court in the land 
on the most unimportant case. Why is this so? Simply 
because we have grown up in the belief, and have been 
taught that to disbelive, is to be a traitor to our bringing 
up. We must break away from our bringing up, and do 
some thinking, if we want universal peace on earth. 

We do not need a real new religion. We need a 
new interpretation of Christianity. The teachings of 
Jesus, relating to our conduct towards our fellowmen, 
are not silly, they are not weak and inpractical ; they are 
not something to hear on Sunday and forget on Monday. 
They are the essence of wisdom and justice, and we 
must at least try to follow them if we are to better our 
earthly conditions. 

Jesus taught a real live religion, bringing men 
together and connecting them with their Creator; not 
the dead thing that we have served to us today, teaching 
that God has gone from earth. Jesus taught human 
service. In Matthew 25-31 read the last sermon he 
preached on earth. His summary, the essence of all his 
teachings. What he tells us we should do. See if you 
find any church going, Sunday keeping, long praying, 
"chosen people," "vicarious atonement" or "fall of man" 
nonsense in it. 

When you Christians are up for judgment in the 
hereafter you will not be asked what day you called the 
Sabbath or whether you kept any ; you will not be asked 
what church you belonged to or whether you belonged to 
any. You will be judged according as you ministered to 
the physical, social and moral necessities of mankind, 
without your asking whether or not they believe in Jesus 
or whether or not they belong to any church. 

According to Matthew, this was the last sermon 
Jesus preached on earth, the summing up of his teachings. 
Now if this is not true, Matthew to say the least, is 
mistaken and should not have been allowed space in the 



100 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

Bible. If this is true there i^ just one thing for us to do 
and that is to accept it at once and start to putting it 
into practice. Make this a part of our religion and then 
put our religion to work ; make politics serve our religion. 
The state must be controlled and dominated by the moral 
sense of the community. In other words the state must 
have a conscience and a heart as well as a will and a 
mind. The best governed people will be the people with 
a high moral sense and who use that high moral, or 
religious sense, in running governmental affairs. 

Politics should be made the servant of true religion, 
for politics, the governmental relation between men, 
belongs to the moral or practical branch of religion and 
should be considered subordinate. No one, but a truly 
religious person, should be allowed to hold office under 
our government. 

What I mean by a truly religious person, is one who 
unselfishly desires to help others. One might be a 
regular attendant at church, an alms giver, repeat long 
prayers and even be a preacher and still be irreligious. 
The truly religious person looks on the natural Word 
of God, the universe, with reverence, awe, admiration 
and love for his Creator ; and he intensely desires to make 
himself worthy the blessings bestowed upon him, by 
aiding others, the only practical way to show his appre- 
ciation for the blessings of life. The real relgious man 
does not try to humilate or deceive himself or his Creator 
by asking for the unreasonable. The practical essence 
of true religion is the Golden Rule. What you do is 
what counts, not what you "believe" regarding the 
miracles, mysteries, fables and fairy tales repeated to you 
by those who know no more about them than you do. 
"As ye did unto these, the least of your brethren, ye did 
it also unto me." This tells you what is expected of 
you ; your duty is to help your "brethren" win the battle 
of life. For life is a battle from the time we struggle to 
draw our first breath until we do the same to draw our 
last. A battle against sickness and poverty, against 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 101 

temptation and sin, for what conscience tells us is right. 
And it is our duty to make this battle against poverty 
as light as possible for those that are less able to fight 
the battle than we are. For everything we eat, wear and 
much that we enjoy is produced or acquired by human 
labor and by human labor alone. Capital does not pro- 
duce anything, it paves the way for labor and is deserv- 
ing of its reward, and every normal, healthy individual 
should be compelled to produce his or her share by 
either manual or brain work. (Money is not capital, it 
merely represents capital, as a deed represents land.) 
Everyone disabled should be tenderly cared for. Under 
our present system there are too many drones that must 
be supported by the workers, this is the fundamental 
reason for the world's unrest. Our unrest is not so 
much a political one, it is economic. 

If all the world should become one grand democracy 
in an instant, it would not affect our world unrest in the 
least; strikes, riots, and civil wars which are worse than 
international wars would continue. Capital is not wholly 
to blame neither is labor, although both are unreasonable 
at times. The cause is deeper seated. Capital and labor 
both suffer at the hands of the "drones" who draw from 
both, through ''interest on money" and otherwise. 

Abstractly speaking, it is our system that education 
and civilization has caused us to outgrow. The average 
man knows in a hazy manner that something is wrong, 
but does not know just what it is. Our whole economic 
system must be changed before we possibly can have a 
just and permanent peace on earth. Monarchy, true 
monarchy, not a few crowned heads, must be banished 
from the earth by the Golden Rule in the hands of the 
earnest, intelligent, awakened, common people of earth. 

No, it is not going to happen today or tomorrow or 
next day. There are too many would-be Kaisers running 
our affairs to allow it to happen. Too many selfish, 
irreligious, ignorant leaders that we blindly follow. We 
are going to continue doing just as we have done in the 



102 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

past; have strikes, riots and wars, rest awhile, have good 
times, panics and hard times and go at it again regardless 
of what the League of Nations or the Disarmament 
Conference at Washington does ; until the masses become 
educated enough to accept true religion and put it into 
practice. 

What a horrible mess we humans have made of 
earthly matters the last ten years, and to the thinking 
person the future is not very promising. The League of 
Nations in any form will not correct our troubles. The 
cause of the world's unrest is injustice that the League 
of Nations does not hint at. We must down the un- 
crowned Kaisers who have an insane desire to rule others, 
through political power, religious power or money power, 
if the people of earth are to be free. 

What we need on earth today is more people who 
think. More people who really believe in bringing about 
a civilization in which the Golden Rule can be used. 
The hardest work on earth is real thinking. The man 
or woman who thinks a valuable, original thought, once 
a month and gives the world the benefit of it, is worth 
more to humanity than a thousand manual laborers. 
Subtle, spiritual power, thought and ideas, is back of 
and runs our physical world, and in proportion to the 
extent that a human puts himself en rapport with the 
finer forces of nature he becomes of value to the physical 
world and rises above the brute. What we should have 
on earth is not more people but better people. Not edu- 
cated human parrots but educated thinking people. I 
will draw an illustration that ma}^ cause you to see my 
point in regard to interest on money. 

Under our present system a man accumulates, we 
will say, one million dollars. For the sake of argument 
we will assume that he got it honestly; that he produced 
for society that many dollars worth of thnigs to eat, w^ear 
and enjoy, and would therefore have a clear right to 
return the money to society at any time and demand 
such things as he cared for, up to an equal value. We 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 103 

will say that he has but one child, a son, and he dies the 
day his son graduates and is twenty-one years of age. 
He leaves the entire million dollars to him. The son 
takes the money and loans it out at five per cent, interest, 
and receives fifty thousand dollars per year which he 
spends on himself and family. The son does this for 
fifty years, then dies, still having the million dollars 
as good as it was the day he got it. He never did any 
work whatever in all his life ; had many people serving 
him ; had the best of everything of earth, but produced 
absolutely nothing. He consumed two million five hun- 
dred thousand dollars worth of good things of earth, 
produced by human labor, and still had his perfectly 
good million dollars when he died. 

Do you see anything wrong with the system that 
allows this? 

One man says : "Well, this young man certainlyi 
did a lot of good, circulating fifty thousand dollars a year 
interest money among his neighbors, besides the million 
principal. It was good for his neighbors to have this 
money circulating, and he circulated it. He made bus- 
iness good. All the interest money that came into his 
possession went right back into circulation. Had he 
hoarded his fifty thousand a year interest money he 
would have done a lot of damage." 

Now, people, this is an old and favorite song of the 
defender of the "greatest financial system on earth." 
While the money changer puts money into circulation 
he certainly takes products, utilities, out of circulation. 
He puts a few dollars into circulation with a string tied 
to them so he can pull them back again and take his 
pick of the finest autos in the land as his "interest" on 
money, and in due time gets his original money or prin- 
cipal back as good as ever, none the worse for wear, 
and then proceeds to pull another auto or something 
else out of society's storehouse without really giving 
anything in return. He uses money as the bait, while 
fishing for the good things of life and uses the same bait 



104 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

over and over again without any injury to the bait. 
At the end of fifty years his bait is as good as it was 
when he started in. 

Of course, under the present economic system it is 
necessary for him to do this in order to circulate money, 
to get money to do business on, but this cannot, in 
reason, be used as an argument in favor of our present 
slystem against a better one. Our present economic 
system was evolved when wooden plows were in use or 
near that time and was probably the thing for that 
age, but it is not the thing for our time. 

We will admit that the young man in question did 
some good in placing the interest money back in cir- 
culation, but see what he gained by doing it. He gained 
fifty thousand dollars worth of autos, fine clothes, the 
best of food, attentive services of others, and all luxuries 
of life that but few enjoy, without giving anything in 
return except putting ;money into circulation, which 
would not be; much of a virtue under a correct economic 
system, as the government should and would do this at 
one tenth the cost to business as at present. 

To make my idea a little plainer, we will say that 
this million dollar lad lives on an island with twenty 
thousand neighbors, and his million dollars is all the 
money on the island. Now civilization or down-to-date 
civilization, could not exist on this island without a 
million dollars to facilitate the exchange of utilities. 

You will be able to see that this young man, or 
money changer, did not actually "circulate fifty thousand 
dollars a year" as stated above by my critic. 

He merely circulated the original million dollars and 
drew from the twenty thousand neighbors, fifty thou- 
sand dollars worth of utilities produced by his neighbors 
as yearly rent on his million dollars. He did not circulate 
more than a million dollars because there was no more 
than just one million dollars on the island. Interest is 
never paid in money, it is alwaysf paid in utilities. It is 
a subtle way of "acquiring" the good things of life 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 105 

without working for them. The principal is paid in 
money, that is, the money borrowed, is returned. 

This money changer "accomodated" his neighbors by 
letting them use his money and in return his neighbors 
supported him like a prince for the "accomodation." 
Do not blame the young man. He was educated to 
believe it proper. But his education was wrong. Edu- 
cation made a parasite out of him without him or a 
majority of his neighbors realizing it. 

Now let me tell you, people, Jesus knew a lot about 
business. But he liyed in a time that it was dangerous to 
speak the truth and be caught in the company with 
Justice. So Jesus was compelled to cover up much of his 
best thought and real wisdom with the bushel basket of 
fable and allegory, in order to live as long as he did live. 
Jesus was a man, not a god, and he had to respect the 
brutal laws and customs of the land the same as we 
must outwardly respect brutal and unjust laws and 
customs today. 

Now the sane thing for these twenty thousand island 
neighbors to do, as well as the sane thing for the inhabi- 
tants of this island earth of ours to do, is to publicly own 
and control the necessary money to transact business 
with. 

How can it be done ? By simply doing it. How do we 
own and control the postal system? How will we some 
day own and control our railroads? How do we own 
and control our wagon and auto roads? If we did not 
own and control them how would we go about it, to do 
it? It is the easiest thing in the world to gradually 
accomplish governmental ownership and control of 
money and kill hard times for ever, if the common people 
will just wake up long enough to elect men instructed to 
bring it about. Do not pay any attention to the howling 
of frenzied finance cayotes. One of these cunning pests 
will sound like a whole pack of wolves when he gets out 
in the desert of financial mysticism and begins to warble 
to you fool crows sitting on a limb with big pieces of 



106 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

"interest" cheese in your mouths. He will charm a lot of 
you. You will drop the pieces of "interest on money" 
cheese into the money changers mouths and go hungry 
listening to flattery and religious and economic false- 
hood, while your charmers grow fat and prosperous. 
This has been the style for centuries. If "you all" like it 
just keep it up. Do not let me disturb or interrupt you 
in the least. I can stand it if you can. 

Another man says : "Now look here, your new 
fangled economic system would put an end to all business 
transactions where the men who engage in risky tran- 
sactions cannot put up good security when borrowing 
money to transact such business. For instance : If a 
prospector can borrow five hundred dollars he may be 
able to go out and find a mine worth five million. Under 
your system he could not get the money from the 
government to finance his doubtful venture, because he 
has no security to pledge. This state of affairs would 
put a stop to a lot of business that should not be 
hindered." 

The above was the opinion of a Los Angeles banker 
who pretends to "know a thing or two" about finance. 
But let us see : 

In the first place, a correct economic system under 
which our government furnished to its citizens all the 
money they needed to exchange products (without inter- 
est, other than the actual cost of the service), real neces- 
sary, legitimate and conservative business could and 
would flourish without paying a tribute to the money 
changers. In an economiic sense, those who do not have 
products to exchange are unworthy, and should not ask 
or expect money. The worthy can pledge products. 
They should have something to exchange first, before 
giving the question of money a thought. They should 
offer labor of brain or hands, or the product of labor, 
in trade, or as security for the labor or products of labor 
of others, before they have a moral right to ask or expect 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 107 

money, which should simply represent utilities, as a deed 
represents land. 

Our present day economic thought is wrong. We do 
not start at the beginning. When we want anything, our 
first thought is where we can get the money to make 
the purchase, regardless of whether we have produced its 
equivalent or not. Our children should be taught that 
they have no moral right to what they do not earn unless 
it is a free gift from someone else and that free gifts are 
not always the proper thing, as they have a tendency to 
weaken character and make charity hounds out of what 
should be self supporting manly and womanly men and 
women. A healthy young mjan or woman who does not 
earn his or her living by brain work or manual work, is 
a charity hound. 

Now coming back to our banker friend's objection. 
I will say, that for the life of me, I cannot see how killing 
interest on money and establishing a correct economic 
system would disturb him and his propector friend or 
client in the least. Furnishing necessary business and 
trade with plenty of money to do business with, would 
certainly not prevent a banker or anyone else for that 
matter, from letting all the money he had, out to all the 
prospectors he cared to, without any security whatever 
and charging all the interest, risk money, insurance money, 
or profit the prospector or wild cat business man is 
willing to pay him. I do not think this would be the 
affairs of anyone else. They could do the same under a 
correct economic system as they do under our present 
system. The banker Would be privileged to loan all the 
money he cared to at any rate of interest he cared to 
charge and could get, and the man who preferred to give 
the banker no security and all his profits would be privi- 
ledged to do so. While the business men, the farmers, 
the manufacturers and the merchants who were respon- 
sible, were economically worthy, who really had some- 
thing to exchange, could get all the money they needed 
to exchange utilities with, without paying any interest 



108 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

other than actual cost to the government for the service 
rendered, which would be less than two per cent instead 
of six, eight and ten per cent, as at present. 

We must give up the little selfish idea of getting 
something for nothing and similar ideas. This is the 
main thing to do first. All our business world must, in 
time, be carried on under the co-operative plan, which 
is the Golden Rule in business, instead of under the "Iron 
Rule," the competitive system as at present whose motto 
is "do the other fellow before he does you," which leads 
to strikes, riots and wars. We are growing towards 
better conditions, we can hasten the growth. 

Capital and labor should be merged. All should be 
laborers. Whether with pick and shovel or pen and ink, 
whether doing the actual manual labor or making the 
plans for and superintending it. 

It can all be figured out satisfactorily if we will to 
do it. 

Everbody should be able to see that there is more 
injustice and misery on earth than there should be. 
There is a cause for everything. What causes so much 
inharmony? Is it necessary? 

I think most of it is unnecessary ; that it is caused by 
ignorance and greed, and that it is the duty of everyone 
to inquire into the matter and do what they can to help 
correct matters. 

I am stating what I think is the cause and what I 
think is the cure. If you think different, trot out your 
views and let the rest of us look them over. This sort 
of procedure in time is bound to accomplish a lot of 
good. Do not be a "molly coddle" and stand back and 
criticize what I recommend without recommending 
something better. 



BLOOD OF JESUS 

We must get rid of this cannibalistic idea of eating 
the flesh and drinking the blood of Jesus of Nazareth. 
This is an ancient heathen custom. A disgusting horrible, 
pre-historic custom, coming down from the time when all 
men actually practiced killing each other as they kill 
and eat animals today. 

There is no Christian today who would actually, 
and knowingly eat the flesh and drink the blood of 
another human unless they were in the last stages of 
starvation. Then why do it symbolically? Why act like 
silly children and play eat human flesh and drink hum.an 
blood? It is not reason, it is not nice, it is not beautiful. 
It is horrible. It was not taught by Jesus and any one 
who says that Jesus taught it, slanders him. It is words 
put into the mouth of Jesus after he was dead, by those 
who had a selfish interest in doing so. 

Many will ask : "why do you make such a fuss over 
these things, the private beliefs of people? What harm 
can they do you or others, even though they are all you 
say they are? Are you trying to deprive the individual 
of his religious freedom, of the right to believe as he likes 
and do as he likes, so long as it does not injure others? 
And pray how can it injure others who are not interested, 
when such symbolic worship goes on in churches whom 
no one needs to attend unless they so desire? What 
has this or similar religious beliefs and practices got to 
do with strikes, riots, wars, poverty, hard times, world 
unrest and such?" 

Now just listen prayerfully a few^ moments and I 
will show you. 

In the first place let us remember that we are all 
people, just ordianry plain well meaning people. You 
must not think that I am trying to put anything over 
on you and I will take it for granted that you have a 
reason, are willing to use it, and that neither of us cares 



110 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

for anything in this matter but real truth and justice. 
That I am not arguing just to get ahead of you in an 
argument, and that you really want to be put right if 
you are on the wrong road. I have two objects in view, 
one is to clear your mind of rubbish and the other is to 
clear Jesus' name of slander. 

In the first place, this symbolic practice was 
invented to bolster up and perpetuate the "vicarious 
atonement" idea and the vicarious atonement idea was 
invented to bolster up the "fall of man" idea. The whole 
trouble starts with the "fall of man" idea. Once admit 
that, and then the "redeemer" idea gains a foothold. If 
there had been no "fall of man" there would have been 
no need of a "redeeemer," a "Christ," and there would 
never have been an assertion that there was or would be 
one. If there had never been any rain, there never would 
have been any W.aterproof umbrellas. But as rain^ makes 
the invention of umbrellas necessary so does the "fall of 
man" make a "redeemer" necessary in the minds of some 
people, as nobody wants to be lost. To the average 
mind it would seem that good works, not good beliefs 
would be a better plan. It would be, in dealing with 
earthly affairs. Why is it not in dealing with heavenly 
affairs ? 

But the men who make a living out of their religion 
will all say with one voice : "He is criticizing God's 
plan, who is he, to presume to place his judgment against 
God's judgment." 

Now just hold on a niinute Mr. Preacher, I am too 
humble a mortal to criticize God's plan, or to even pre- 
sume to know what God's plan is, if it is not "evolution," 
as all the really educated men of today tell us. Before 
anyone can rightfully accuse me of criticizing God's plan 
he must prove what God's plan is, first. 

Where do the preachers get this "fall of man" and 
"God's plan" from ? They get it from Genesis. And what 
is Genesis? Who wrote it? Where did the author live? 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? Ill 

What idea did he intend to convey? What was he up 
to? Why did he write Genesis? 

No living mortal can positively answer any of these 
questions and prove the answers to be true by evidence 
that Would be accepted in any court in our land. They 
must use hearsay evidence, men's opinions at best, 
nothing* more. Let me ask: taking men of equal intelli- 
gence, is it not true, that the man who does not make a 
living out of his religion is as able to judge in an 
unbiased manner, as the man who does make a living out 
of his religion? Nine tenths of the criticism against me 
for saying what I do, will come from the latter. 

This is what I think about the Genesis story. I may 
be right and I may be wrong. If any one can prove, by 
reasoning and there is no other way to prove it that I 
know of, I would be glad to hear it. Genesis is a very 
ancient poem written by a master poet of his day. A 
deep thinker, a man with a heart, and Genesis was 
evidently a masterpiece in this poet's time. What makes 
m'e think so ? Why a dozen reasons ; one is the way it 
indulges in flights of imagination. The way it is written, 
the way it causes our thoughts to soar when we read it, 
even at this distant day in its incomplete, garbled state. 
It has been translated many times, losing some of its 
original beauty at each translation. It has come to us 
from ancient times in a battered condition as an old and 
faded garrnent or an old and broken piece of furniture 
handed down and passed along from the dim and distant 
past. This ancient poet beheld the glory of the universe 
and being somewhat unlike the ox at the manger, whose 
only thought is to fill his stomach, the sight of the won- 
derful things this poet beheld filled him with awe and 
admiration for the great Creator of it all. His soul was 
thrilled and he tried to pass some of that thrill on to his 
fellow travelers on earth. 

When he gazed upon the heavens he saw nothing but 
beauty and harmony. When his vision was turned earth- 
ward he saw beautiful trees, flowers, fruits and grains 



112 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

for man to enjoy, but, when he gazed at man he saw 
mostly discord, inharmony, selfishness, greed, and jeal- 
ousy. He saw men enslaving men, he saw men brutally 
murdering other men and appropriating their belongings. 
He saw but little of the beautiful and harmonious in 
man's soul and he was at a loss to account for it. It 
evidently seemed to this ancient poet that there was no 
other way to account for man's depravity other than the 
"fall of man" and his wonderful imagination gave us 
this solution. He could not bare to think that an all 
wise loving Creator would wfill this earth to be, and then 
straightway fill it full of want and misery to last 
throughout eternity. To him, man in discord seemed to 
grow. He thought that God surely did not make him so. 
That man must have fallen, no other way to cause the 
horrors he beheld. For all was universal harmony ex- 
cepting man alone. Therefore man must have gone 
astray, must have fallen from the beautiful harmonious 
image that alone could come from so great a Being as the 
Creator of All. 

But science today tells us that man never fell. That 
man evolved. That he is higher today than he ever was. 
That he has been climbing for hundreds of thousands of 
years. Science teaches the rise of man and can prove it 
by evidence that would be accepted in any court in the 
land. Now there is just one thing certain, either science 
and our courts are wrong or this "fall of man" theory is 
wrong. And if there was no "fall of rrfan" there was no 
need of a "redeemer" and of course none ever came. But 
how about Jesus, wasn't he our redeemer, didn't he 
claim to be our redeemer? No, a decided no to both 
questions. These words were put into his mouth after 
he was a long time dead. Priests who accepted the poetic 
"fall of man" as a fact, tried to save man from the 
hole the ancient poet put him in, by inventing the "re- 
deemer" idea, and long after Jesus of Nazareth was 
dead, they attached this "redeemer" tag to Jesus. This 
very thing is what has handicapped the teachings of 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 113 

Jesus throughout the centuries ; educated, intelligent and 
thinking people will not stand for it. This was a slander, 
a libel against the name of Jesus, and must be cleared 
up so the whole world can intelligently follow Jesus 
or rather his teachings and build a better world. 

Now to answer the question "what has all this to do 
with hard times, poverty, wars, etc?" 

Now listen again. What you do, depends upon what 
you believe. If you believe you cannot wade a river 
you will not try it. If you believe a thing is poison you 
will not eat it. On the other hand if you believe you can 
wade a river and that it would be a good thing for you, 
we know about what you would do the first chance you 
got. 

Now, if you believe that symbolically eating the flesh 
and drinking the blood of Jesus is going to save your 
soul and secure you a permanent home in heaven ; and 
you believe that our present life is not of much import- 
ance ; that you will soon be at rest in the bosom of Jesus 
in the happy summer land of eternity, you will not be 
a very active worker to better earthly conditions, correct 
hard times, lessen poverty, stop wars, etc. Your belief 
will naturally, powerfully influence your actions and 
you will settle down and be a negative upholder of these 
deplorable earthly conditions. You will only become a 
good active citizen working hard to help better earthly 
conditions as your belief in the mythical Jesus and his 
power to save the world, lessens. In other words, the 
less you believe that Jesus can and will stretch forth his 
hand and save the world the more you will try to help 
save it, and the less you will sit down in the path of 
progress and obstruct the business of evolution. 

For instance supposing there is a nation of just ten 
persons. Six of you thoroughly and honestly believe that 
somehow, sometime, some way, Jesus will happen along 
and correct everything in a jiffy, what can the other 
four of us do to correct wrongs? Only one way; to get 
the majority to change their belief and quit pinning such 



114 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

faith to a mythical Jesus and quit living mentally and 
symbolically off of the flesh and blood of that Jesus. 

Why not put your faith in the teachings of a red- 
blooded manly Jesus who lived like a man and died like 
a man and who left behind a wonderful manly philo- 
sophy? It is the fool friends of Jesus who are spilling 
the beans. They are the ones who stand in the way of 
progress and they do not know it. They are responsible 
for wars, bloodshed and disorder, and do not realize it. 
They refuse to spend their time studying the causes and 
cures for our evils. They are too self-satisfied, to smug, 
too selfish and too lazy to think for humanity. Their 
thoughts are all on a mythical Jesus and themselves. 
Wake up, people. Get your old dusty Bibles down and 
go to studying them. Ask these questions of everyone 
you meet : why do we have wars ? why do we have hard 
times? why are we all continually fighting instead of 
helping each other? There is only one answer to all these 
questions. Someone is trying to get something for 
nothing or rather everybody is trying to get something 
for nothing and only a few succeed. All wars are caused 
by "business" by ambitious men whose ambition is 
wrongly directed. Nations trying to get ahead of each 
other in business matters. Trying to steal a slice of terri- 
tory, trying to get better business deals with other 
nations which still other nations object to. 

Look at the bickerings at Washington. Nothing but 
the Golden Rule will ever stop it. And the Golden Rule 
was not advocated by any mythical Jesus. It was preach- 
ed by a real full-blooded ntan Jesus and it is the one 
and only panacea for our ills. 



GOD'S PLAN 

The Christian story of Jesus impresses me as a 
garbled fairy tale with too much brutality mixed with it 
to make anything but an unsatisfying impression on the 
mind while leaving a decidedly bloody horror hovering 
around the soul. 

It leaves me with a disgusting, homesick feeling to 
see brutality and crime forever triumphant; to see inno- 
cence and helplessness always wronged and tortured, 
while brutes kill their own Creator; their God too weak 
and silly to stay their bloody hands. It reminds me of 
a weak, foolish mother allowing a spoiled child to thrust 
a dagger into her heart and kill her, when by raising her 
hand she could prevent it for the best interest of her 
child as well as her own, but she is too sentimentally 
weak and idiotic to do it. 

Why do people admire such a godly character? 
Disgust and pity is all I can make out of it. I have absol- 
utely no admiration for the hideous "fairy tale." 

The character that the average Christian gives to 
Jesus is a weak one, whether god or man. Never defend- 
ing himself when he should be the strongest. Always 
disappointing, always walking into trouble, torture and 
death. This is not human nature. The being that had 
this nature was not human, neither was he divine. Gods 
do not allow their creatures to murder them. The very 
name "God" means "Master." A god who would allow 
men to murder him is certainly a "weak sister" as far 
as gods are concerned. 

How much more womanly it Would be for the mother, 
whose six year old son tried to murder her, to stop the 
little imp, knock him over, take the dagger away from 
him and send him to bed hungry. We can admire such 
a mother, but we have only disgust for the mother who 
would allow the kid to murder her. 

The same reasoning will apply to gods. How much 



116 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

greater impression Jesus could have made on earth had 
he defied the brutes who sought to kill him, by just 
stopping their murder party as they were all ready to 
see some blood flow. A god could have played a little 
godly joke on Pilate, the priests, the soldiers and the 
multitude of brutes, and taught humanity in general not 
to get too fresh with a god. 

But then this wouldn't have been "God's plan." But 
prove to me that it was God's plan, before you accuse 
me of criticising "God's plan" ; for I am positively not 
criticising God's plan. I am merely criticising what 
deluded Chrstians say is God's plan. 

Why do we admire Washington? Why do we admire 
Lincoln? Why do we admire Roosevelt? Simply because 
they did not do as Jesus is said to have done under sim- 
ilar circumstances. Washington did not let Benedict 
Arnold betray him into the hands of the British and 
meekly allow himself to be led to the slaughtering 
grounds. What would we think of Washington now, 
had he followed the actions of the mythical Jesus and 
allowed himself to be killed by a firing squad or a cross? 
Why was it divine for Jesus, a god, to allow himself 
to be murdered by brutal Romans and brutal Jews and 
why wouldn't it have been divine for Washington to have 
allowed himself to be murdered by the brutal British? 
Either Washington or the mythical Jesus was wrong. 
It is my judgment that the mythical Jesus should have 
acted as Washington did act, refuse to be murdered, but 
live as long as he could, and teach and lead the people 
all he could. Had Washington done the same as the 
mythical Jesus, would we have this prosperous America 
today? Does anyone think that Washington could have 
done good for humanity by falling in with, and helping 
to further a plot to kill himself? No one but a weak- 
minded man or silly old women could entertain such an 
idea. If Washington had been in the place of the myth- 
ical Jesus he would have faught. So would Lincoln and 
Roosevelt. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 117 

Who do we admire the most, the hero who happens 
along at the right time and knocks the villains gaily 
west and aids innocence, virtue and justice to triumph, 
or the weakling who lays down and lets the villains 
triumph ? 

Why do we admire the character of the mythical 
Jesus? Simply because priests have warped our minds. 

Now do not get it into your head that I am not an 
admirer of the real Jesus of Nazareth. I think he was a 
greater man than Washington. It is a silly man-made- 
god Jesus that exists only in the minds of deluded 
Christians that I am ridiculing; the "saviour" Jesus, 
the "redeemer" Jesus, the "Christ" Jesus; the "god" 
Jesus, the Jesus that never existed other than in the 
minds of unthinking, silly men and women, put there by 
men who make a living doing it. 

We should drop heathen Christianity with its "Christ 
and cross" man-made god, and follow the God-made 
man, Jesus of Nazareth. We should turn our present 
churches into Humanitarian churches and help evolu- 
tion, Gods plan. 

Preachers should quit being mental jailers and reli- 
gious cops. They should quit trying to drive and coax 
people. They should feed the healthy, mental food, and 
give them a chance to do their own digesting. They 
should try and stir their minds to healthy mental action 
instead of forever trying to pull them into a rut and 
keep them there. Preachers should study and teach 
economic questions. It is their duty to take an intelli- 
gent interest in the week-day affairs of men and women. 
They should take six times as much interest in the ev- 
eryday, this world affairs, as they do in Sunday, or next 
world affairs, because there are six times as many week 
days. 



WHAT I KNOW ABOUT GODS 

Evolution is God's plan. Evolution of suns, evolu- 
tion of planets, evolution of civilizations, evolution of 
religions, evolution of races of men and evolution of man 
himself. God works silently and constantly whether 
working to develop a universe or working to develop a 
tiny seed into a giant tree, a microscopic cell or germ 
into a man, or an uncivilized man into a civilized human 
being. "The mills of gods grind slow, but exceedingly 
fine is the grist thereof." 

Religions are born, grow for a time then decline and 
pass away. Christianity was born, grew and ruled a 
good part of our earth in a tyrannical manner for a few 
centuries and is now on the decline and within a century 
or two will be only a hideous memory, at best. 

Man needs religions and governments suitable to his 
particular stage of development. A heaven and hell 
religion is perfectly proper for a heaven and hell man, 
but when that man progresses enough, the hell part 
can be elimanted and just the heavenly part retained. 
You can scare a low down, uneducated, bad man with 
hell, but you can't scare a highly educated moral man 
with any such bugaboo, to make him believe your 
particular brand of religion or anything else. The in- 
telligent man knows that he is a living record of just 
what he really is. He knows that every thought he 
ever entertained and every act he ever committed is 
recorded by himself, or /automatically j upon himself, 
where he himself or God can see it at a glance. He 
knows that he cannot erase one thought or one act. 
That he is just what he has made himself, and is making 
himself daily, and that he can change for the better 
or worse just as he pleases. He knows that it is no 
use trying to fool himself or his Creator. He is an open 
book in his own hand writing. He knows that he can 
be good or bad as he pleases and he knows what is 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 119 

good or bad, for him. He knows that if he does some- 
thing bad he is sure to suffer for it sometime, somewhere 
and somehow. He knows it is cowardly and lazy for him 
to ask, expect or accept anyone else to suffer for his 
sins. He knows that Christianity is a deceitful, cowardly 
and unjust religion to try and bribe mens souls into 
a cruel selfishness that would profit through the murder 
of innocence ; that would degrade men's souls into the 
horrible crime of believing that innocent blood will or 
could wash away sin. 

Nothing will wash away sin but good acts. Nothing 
will make the bad man good except he turns from bad 
acts to good acts. The instant he begins to write a 
record of good acts in his book of life, that instant he 
begins to save himself. And if he continues to write a 
record of nothing but good thoughts and good acts in 
time the good record will so far overbalance his former 
bad record that the bad record will be of little con- 
sequence. 

Each man judges himself and is his own redeemer. 
The "redeemer" part of Christianity is a priestly fraud 
and has disgraced and belittled Christianity before an 
intelligent .world and is the cause of its downfall. Noth- 
ing saves men but education, knowledge, and science. 
Men learn by experience. Men learn by committing 
sin. They suffer the consequences of sin and thus learn 
virtue. A little experience is sufficient for some, but 
others require much. No one will ever get so low down 
that he cannot rise in time, and no one gets so high in 
this world but what he can rise much higher. We are 
good to a certain extent and we are all bad to a certain 
extent. If this were not so the chances are that none of 
us would be here in this earthly school of experience. 

It seems to me that all men are God made and that 
all God's are man made. For whenever a man tries to 
conceive of God, the inconceivable, he simply starts in 
to manufacture a God. All civilizations, all religions 
and their gods are man-made ; simply man's idea of 



120 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

what God, the unknown and unknowable, insofar as mor- 
tal man is concerned, is or should be. 

They usually picture God as a magnified man ; some- 
times distorted, sometimes purified, but always intensely 
human but rarely humane, with his ''chosen people ;" 
His friends and enemies; His likes and dislikes; His 
powers and weaknesses, and, in fact with every attribute 
of character that the human god creators have, detest 
or admire. And they worship through fear or love or 
the impossible mixture of both. 

The Christian god is no exception to the rule. When- 
ever a man begins to talk about God, His Personality or 
Anatomy, he begins to talk about something which he 
knows absolutely nothing about, and whatever he may 
say has reference only to man's idea of God ; man's 
mental image of God ; man's little home-made god, and 
not the great Creator of all. 

The only way we mortals have of knowing anything 
whatever of the real God, is by studying His works, the 
only great Word of God. 

The broader and more enlightened we become the 
less we try to jam the great Creator of everything into 
the little mental image of God that mortals are ever- 
lastingly constructing. 

There are as many different mortal minds as there 
are different thumb prints, as there are faces, as there 
are men and women. No two mortal minds are exactly 
alike. No two mortal minds can see things exactly 
alike. And the instant one mortal begins to tell another 
mortal about the Personality of God, that instant he 
begins to manufacture a god, the result is only a god 
model, a mental or a stone image, a picture god or a 
shadow god. There are millions of heathen gods and 
there are millions of Christian gods. When man talks 
about God, tries to impart to another some information 
regarding the characteristics and attributes of God he 
does not accomplish what he starts out to do do, he 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 121 

merely tells his idea of God. It is absolutely impossible 
to tell anything about God Himself. 

Jesus on the cross, made of gold, iron, bronze or 
stone, is just as much an idol as any other heathen god, 
carved in stone or any other material. All man-made 
gods are heathen gods. Christianity's man-made god 
is no exception. 

Words are inventions of men. Words are man made. 
The real unknown and unknov^able God certainly does 
not have to stoop to use man made things. He cer- 
tainly must be above using the methods of men. If this 
is true there could be no man-made-book, Word of God. 
Now this is about all I know about gods. If you just 
cannot get along without more information on the sub- 
jest, ask a few Christians. They are usually pretty 
accomodating fellows ; they'll tell you all they know and 
more too, especially about God. 

A man asked quite a favor of me once I granted it. 
He said: "are you a Christian?" I said, what do you 
mean by the word Christian. He said : one who believes 
that Jesus was half-god and half-man." I said, I do not 
believe in half-breeds on general principles and cannot 
make an exception of a mythical "Christ." He was in- 
sulted. I was disgusted. He left me without thanking 
me for a great favor I had granted him. I thought to 
myself, if that fellow is a true Christian, I am glad I 
don't have to be a Christian. 

Another time a preacher called on me to convert me. 
It was early in the month of May. I had some very 
early fruit ripening and gave him a bag full to take 
home to his wife and little girl; I had but little of this 
fruit and divided with him and his family. He stayed 
a couple of hours trying to bring me to his god, the 
mythical "Christ," and during this time he ate up all the 
fruit that I had given him for his wife and child; he 
and I had eaten some from the tree. I did not become 
converted. His actions spoke louder to me than his 
words. He was thoughtless and selfish. 



THOUGHT MICROBES 

The world is diseased. It is "thought" microbes 
that causes the disease. We must get after those 
microbes. Kill thought microbes and the world will get 
well. But in pursuing those microbes to their lair we 
must necessarily follow them to their old musty caves 
of thought in our ''greatest book on earth," for in this 
ancient unused book many of these pesky thought 
microbes are strongly intrenched and their well meaning 
but misguided human friends will fight like enraged 
female tigers for their pet mental microbes, their adopted 
thought children. But "what is a fellow going to do" un- 
der the circumstances, beat his brains out against a stone 
wall of ignorance and superstition? If a person succeeds 
in doing anything worth while in killing these ancient 
mental disease microbes his reward will be an avalanch 
of unreasoning abuse from the unthinking adopted papa's 
and mama's of these criminal, mental microbes. But 
then let us remember what Jesus went through and 
proceed to our duty. What we may go though is nothing 
in comparison. 

"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" is a hideous 
mental microbe that gave millions of ancient Christians, 
hydrophobia and caused them to burn at the stake and 
tear to pieces the living, quivering bodies of thousands 
of their brothers and sisters. Was this nice? Was it 
a nice mental microbe that caused these horrible mur- 
ders? Does anyone of today uphold this demoniacal 
mental microbe. Does any papa's or mama's of today 
want this mental microbe for their darling pet microbe? 
This mental microbe has his home in the "greatest book 
on earth" and has caused rivers of human blood and 
tears to flow, in by gone days. Exodus 22-18. Do you 
admit that there is just one bad mental microbe en- 
trenched in our Bible? Now understand the question and 
consider your answer, because which ever way you 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 123 

answer you are condemning the "greatest book on 
earth," the foundation of your religion. If you answer 
that it is- a bad mental microbe you must then stop with 
me long enough to explain what this bad mental microbe 
is doing in the ''Word of God," "the greatest book on 
earth," the book that when opening, you always close 
your reason. If you admit there is just one error in a 
perfect book you have cast doubt and suspicion over 
it all. Remember it will be you, doing it, not me. There 
may be other dangerous mental microbes hidden therein. 
The fact is there are, others, many, many others, that 
causes million to suffer and mourn, but if one is not 
sufficient to illustrate my point a thousand would not 
be. 

Now if you answer that "Thou shalt not suffer a 
witch to live" is good logic, good moral teaching, you 
approve of mutilation, maiming and tearing to pieces 
and burning of the living bodies of untold thousands of 
innocent humans. If it is not good doctrine, what is it 
doing in the "Word of God? Take your choice. 

The fact is the "greatest book on earth" lies square 
across our path of progress seroiusly obstructing if not 
actually halting God's great plan of evolution of our race 
and it must be moved from that path before any real 
peace on earth will come. 

Let me tell you what I think about the Bible, it need 
not affect what you think about it, but it will serve to 
help make my thought clear to you. You can investigate 
and prove to yourself whether I speak truth or false- 
hood. 

The Bible is a man-made book. It was written by men, 
those writings were collected by men, translated by men 
and published by men. It is distributed by men and 
interpreted by men. It contains much truth, much error, 
much good and beautiful and much bad, obsene and 
filthy thoughts and sayings ; much philosophy, much 
that is fairy tales and dreams, much that is practical and 
much that is not practical in our day, It contains much 



124 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

that was evidently beautiful and inspiring poetry in the 
original manuscript, but a good part of which has been 
lost on translation. It contains much that is simple 
legend. In other words the Bible is not a book, a single 
book, it is fragmentary literature gathered together in 
one great book. It is not the Word of God, it is the 
words of men and some of those men were saints, while 
others were low degraded moral outcasts, too filthy to 
hold a place in a modern respectable dime novel, with 
many passages too vulgar and obsene for a decent man 
to say to a decent woman. If the ''greatest book on 
earth" were put in our schools and the teachers were 
compelled to read it through from beginning to end and 
explain the meaning of every word, sentence and para- 
graph, a majority of our school teachers who belong to 
Christian churches would resign rather than do it. There 
is not one person in a thousand that knows and realizes 
all that is in the Bible. 

When the Bible says in chapter 31 of Numbers, that 
God approved of Moses who commanded thirty two 
thousand young innocent girls to be turned over to his 
brutal soldiers to do with them as they pleased, and use 
them as ''white slaves," I say, at least, that such portion 
of the Bible is not the "Word of God." If this is 
criticising the Bible I plead guilty and will suffer the 
penalty manfully, whatever it may be, and will not ask 
a neighbor or a saviour to suffer "vicariously" for me. 

There are hundreds of instances of degredation, dis- 
honesty and brutality being taught by our Bible. Taking 
the Bible for it, war is a virtue, human blood spilling 
laudable, stealing a virtue, white slavery a great, grand 
thing, especially when practiced by "Gods Chosen 
People" against their enemies. According to the Bible 
didn't God plan, and direct wars? If this is the case 
why are we foolishly trying to do away with wars? 
Wars must be good if God approves of them. Oh, says 
one, God approved of wars in the Old Testament. In the 
New Testament that same God does not approve of 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 125 

them. Oh horrors ! As if the great Creator was a weak 
little human to be changing his mind every few centuries 
or rather every few minutes, as centuries are only 
minutes to a God. If this is the case we better look out, 
He -may change his mind again and upset all our plans. 
No telling what God may do. He may take a notion to 
make the sun shine at night instead of in the day time, 
then the moon would be out of a job and there would be 
no more love making by moonlight; for we must all 
admit that nothing is impossible with God. "God works 
in mysterious ways these wonders to perform." I really 
believe this myself. I believe that God could accom- 
plish the impossible if he wanted to. I believe he could 
really cause Christians to think intelligently on matters 
pertaining to religion and the "greatest book on earth," 
if he cared to do so. Now let us hope and pray that He 
will do this. But He will first necessarily have to silence 
a few selfish uneducated "cheeky" people who make a 
living out of their religion, because, if He does not they 
will make so much noise that no one will be able to 
hear ones self think. Just pull a hungry sucking calf 
away from his dinner if you want to hear some bawling. 

Now I do_ not wish to give out the impresion that 
all men who make a living out of their religion are any 
worse or mu<:h different than us people who do not make 
a living out of religion. Many of them are victims of 
circumstances over which they had no control or thought 
they had no control. They have been placed there by 
others. These circumstances have been woven around 
them and it is a strong man indeed who can rise above 
his surroundings and see clear, think straight and act 
correct regardless of these conditions. 

To begin with let us take the case of one young man 
to represent the class. 

There is the Bill Grimes people ; a fine upright 
Christian family. They have education, refinement and 
some money. Mrs. Grimes is a relf-sacrificing intelligent, 
loving wife and mother who attends church regularly, 



126 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

causes all the children to do the same and scolds Bill 
because he does not go to church. Bill goes whenever 
he can't get out of it, to please the ''missus" and keep 
peace in the family. His wife gets inspiration and 
consolation out of hearing the beautiful story of Jesus 
related over and over, the same as one does from singing 
or hearing a beautiful song over and over. The church 
music, the well dressed people, the air of refinement and 
the sympathetic mental atmosphere of the church, are 
as necessary to Mrs Grimes and her spiritual nature as 
water is for a fish to swim in, or as Bill's pipe is to him. 
Bill is a man, a red-blooded man ; he can't stand as much 
sentiment; just a little bit, not too much, and Bill's 
spiritual nature is satisfied ; enough is enough, alike a 
good meal, kissing or anything else ; fine until you've 
got enough. Mrs. Grimes never gets too much of church 
influence and therefore she naturally thinks it is the 
greatest thing on earth, just the thing for young Bill who 
is somewhat delicate. Mrs. Grimes thinks it would be 
just grand to have young Bill study for the ministry. 
Young Bill hasn't been thoroughly halter broke and is 
somewhat hard to lead. Old Bill hasn't much to say. 
While he had rather see young Bill get out in the world 
and take a more strenuous part in lifes activities he is 
discreet; doesn't offer much resistance to the preacher- 
fying plan of Mrs. Grimes; as old Bill has been married 
some time and knows a thing or two about the persis- 
tence of women. 

Well, young Bill enters college, takes all that is 
handed him as absolute truth, graduates, comes home, 
gets married, secures a job leading men and women 
twice and three times his age, and settles down to 
"making a living out of his religion." Now don't blame 
young Bill too much for what he does. Up to the time 
he has settled down permanently in life he has not been 
taught to, yea, not even been allowed to think for himself, 
unless he did it with the guilty conscience of a chicken 
thief. He has been raised on canned thought, 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 127 

dried thought, mummified thought, dusty thought, 
thoughtless thought, dead thought, Bible thought. He 
has been led to believe that one should not think for 
ones self on religious matters, that it is one of the worst 
of crimes, and he has obeyed implicitly. After a bit, 
things happen in the due course of his preaching life 
that causes Bill to think, really and truly think deeply, 
on religious matters, and such thought causes him to 
doubt much that was formerly taught him and which 
he parrot like, repeated to others. But it is too late 
now ; he cannot turn back. Bill looks at the error he has 
been spreading along with some truth, he sees some 
physical as well as mental good that he has done and 
much mental harm. He then glances at a loving wife 
and several small Bill's looking to him for food, clothing, 
education, care and protection, and Bill says to himself: 
no I cannot turn back, I must go straight ahead and be 
somewhat of a hypocrite. The preaching business is the 
only business I know. I had rather do this than to see 
my loved ones suffer, I can make a living at nothing else 
and if I dared to tell the truth as I see it, I would be 
kicked out of the church. I hope and pray that the end, 
the good I wish to accomplish, will justify the means, 
as well as the error and untruth I am scattering while 
doing some good. 

Now I say, God pity the Bill Grimes' of earth, I do 
from the bottom of my heart and pledge myself to do 
all I can to help bring about a state of society where 
they can pursue and tell the truth as they see it, and 
make a better living for themselves and their lovely 
families, out of the occupation, than they do today, while 
scattering error. Preachers, or "teachers" rather, are not 
going out of style. We need twice as many as we have 
today, but of a better and higher grade of intelligence 
and education. 

I am after the scalp of no individual or set of indi- 
viduals. It is the false system of religion, business and 
government that I wish to change, not "tear down ;" but 



128 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

gradually and tenderly "repair" and "reform" without 
shocking any individual or actually harming any one, or 
many men. Come fellows help do it, do your bit and we 
will have a better world before you realize it. Look 
yourself over, look your government over, and then do 
your duty as you see it. "Try all things and hold fast 
that which is good," simply because you intelligently 
believe it to be good, not because any one else believes 
it to be good. Base your belief on the result of your own 
real hard thought even as you base your business trans- 
actions on your previous mathematical thought before 
you act. The average man usually "figures it out" him- 
self, before he acts in business affairs, he rarely acts on 
some one elses "belief." Follow this in religious and 
governmental matters. Get away from the thought: 
"what was good enough for my dear Mother, or my dear 
Father is good enough for me. If all of us thought this, 
there would be no progress. We would still be using 
sticks for plows and stones for knives. Go up to a higher 
level of thought, the mental "water is fine." The fault is 
not so much with the Bible as it is with "you fellows," 
who listen to weak minded silly "sissy" men who sing 
their little song of words for the "eats" they get out 
of it. The fault is not with the Bible as much as it is 
with the "interpretation" of the Bible. Men and women 
interpret it who do not understand it themselves and then 
spread their misinterpretation among unthinking people 
who are too busy with their noses to the grindstone of 
everyday life, trying to make a living for those depending 
on them, in an economic system that the biggest sinner 
against the teachings of Jesus, the man we all profess to 
follow, gets away with the most "swag." 

The Bible is certainly a wonderful book. A saint can 
draw from it inspiration for a higher and grander life, 
while a hardened criminal can learn new tricks to aid him 
in swindling people, from the same book. 

The next time you read the Bible do not take a won- 
derful poem that has been butchered by many transla- 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 129 

tions and interpretations as well as additions and omis- 
sions by former designing priests, and try to get good 
literal sense out of it. Such idiocy has cost the world 
many a brave soul, many a noble person had his tongue 
torn out, his eyes gouged out and then burned alive at 
the stake simply because he dared to think and speak 
rationally regarding the poems, fairy tales, dreams, myths» 
legends and prophecies in the Bible. The fault I say is 
not so much with the Bible as it is with its would be in- 
terpreters, who act as ponderous and silly as did 
foreigners over some of Mark Twain's jokes. 

Ask Christians why intellect slipped backward during 
the dark ages when Christianity was all powerful. 

They will answer: "Because the barbarians from the 
north overran civilization and stamped out knowledge." 

Let me ask : Did barbarians from the north say the 
world is only six; thousand years old and is flat and the 
sun travels around it, and is inferior to it? Or did 
Christians say this and burn people at the stake who 
refused to believe it? 

Did barbarians from the north condemn the telescope 
as an invention of the Devil and m'ake Gallileo apologize 
to the Christian church for saying that our earth is 
round and revolves on its axes? Who slandered the name 
of Copernicus the father of astronomy and burned Bruno 
at the stake for saying the world is round and proving 
the Old Testament to contain mistakes in astronomy, 
geography and morality? Was it the barbarians from 
the north or Christians that discourage a search after 
truth and knowledge? 

Did barbarians from the north start bloody wars 
between Christian sects and cause them to murder each 
other because of and in the name of mythical "Christ." 

That's right Christians, lay the blame on "barba- 
rians," the "Devil" or any other scapegoat, while you 
pile your sins on the back of the "Christ." Always re- 
fusing to stand up like men and women and suffer for 
your own sins and mistakes. 



HELPLESS HUMANS 

How helpless we are when we first come into this 
world, more helpless than a rabbit or a kitten. And how 
rediculous we look; no better than a slab of beefsteak. 
But after we are bathed, fed, dolled up and doctored up 
and waited on incessantly for a few weeks we begin to 
show signs of beings somebody. But think of the years 
we are helpless and think of the trouble we cause until 
we are able to navigate the sea of life alone ; if that time 
ever really does come in civilized life, and then just 
notice the importance some of us assume even while we 
are so thoroughly dependent on others for the necessi- 
ties of life as well as life itself. How we ride rough shod 
over our own kind as well as over helpless lower animals. 
We immediately assume an importance that a God should 
be timid about assuming. We take it for granted that 
all the lower animals were put here for is for us to 
butcher and devour. In former ages we assumed the 
same regarding each other. We seem certain, that all 
other races of people? are on earth for, is just to be our 
slaves, that all the unfortunate of our own race is here 
for, is to be our servants. This is the common heart 
attitude of the average Christian man. 

But just let some little thing out of the ordinary, be- 
fall some of us big, strong men ; a sprained ankle, a tap 
on the head, a pain in the liver, or some trivial accident 
and how quick we are helpless, down floundering in the 
dust, needing help and pathetically looking for it from 
those whom a few moments before we were lording it 
over in a haughty manner; now pleading for sympathy 
and tender care that we probably do not deserve; ex- 
pecting to be carried home and tucked away in a nice 
bed and be waited on like an infant. And finally death 
comes and takes us where? Oh why didn't we be more 
humble, more humane, more patient, more noble like 
Jesus, while we had a chance? But we or he or she, did 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 131 

not, and it is too late now. The great tomorrow has 
come, and we have gone where we will not do any more 
lording it over those that circumstances placed in our 
temporary power; but others, probably greater tyrants, 
take our places and the mad game of earthly life goes 
merrily on. 

But let us see, who are we anyway? We were cer- 
tainly created. We are here aren't we? Are we not a 
living proof that we were created? We certainly didn't 
"jes grow." If it is admitted that we were "created," 
there must be a Creator somewhere ; and if that is the 
case we must belong to our Creator instead of belonging 
to ourselves or to each other. If we have a Creator and 
belong to a Creator we certainly owe something to that 
Creator. That Creator must certainly have had a pur- 
pose in view when he created us. If we have a Creator 
it is our duty to serve Him instead of serving our selfish 
selves. Wq are evidently here to help our Creator and 
not to hinder Him. He evidntly is working out some 
plan and we may play a vital part in it. Now it seems 
to me that our duty is to try and get en rapport with our 
Creator and help Him all we can. 

We do not know where we came from, where we are 
going or just why we are here, unless we are here to help 
our Creator and the only practical way that I can see 
that we can help Him is for each of us to aid those below 
us to climb higher in intelligence and morality. Some 
moral, intelligent, loving people do not need a saviour to 
tell them this, they naturally know it; this knowledge is 
a part of their very selves. Helping God's Creatures 
must help God. Then let us all get in and help build a 
better world with no wars, no poverty, and as little sin 
and sorrow as possible and surprise our Creator. It can 
be done. Nothing but ignorance and selfishness stands 
in the way. 

Let us all Join a Humantarian Church and get busy. 
Let us all be ''home" patriotic first and then "world" 
patriotic afterwards, adopting the motto : The world is 



132 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

my church, to aid others my religion. Let us be Ameri- 
cans in local affairs only. Let us be World Citizens in 
all matters pertaining to other nations and look at the 
other fellows side of all questions. Follow the Golden 
Rule as near as we can in all earthly dealings. 

It should not be necessary to start any new church 
''buildings," to belong to a Humanitarian Church. A 
word to the wise should be sufficient, but will it be? 

What a grand thing it would be for our government 
to say to the foreign nations that owe us such immense 
sums of money: "The American Nation expects its 
creditors 'to do as they wish to be done by'." We will 
expect every dollar you owe us but without interest." 
This would be honest and fair to all and would cause the 
world to think on this question. The little dishonest 
interest we would lose would be more than offset by the 
moral gold we would gain. But it is probably expecting 
too much to ask one Christian government to follow the 
Golden Rule in dealing with other Christian governments. 

If the leaders of America were real leaders they would 
do this as well as many other things that should be done 
to start the world to thinking correctly. America could 
lead the world to universal peace and happiness if she 
had a leader or two worthy of the name. 



TWO KINDS OF CHRISTIANITY 

There are two kinds of Christianity. The kind that 
Jesus taught and other kind, the kind that most of our 
present Christian churches teach. I will call the former, 
Christianity, and the latter heathen Christianity. We 
have a few churches, thanks to a few broad minded, re- 
ligiously sane preachers, in which real Christianity is 
explained and enlarged on. But a majority ot our Chris- 
tian preachers, preach heathen Christianity. 

Jesus of Nazareth Christianity is : The Fatherhood 
of God, the Brotherhood of man, a soul with a future 
life and the Golden Rule. It was taught centuries before 
Jesus was born. If not all in one religion, in various 
religions. It never was taught as well as Jesus taught 
it. But Guatama taught it, the practical part of it, most 
of it, and so did Confucius and many other great men. 

Of course these men all taught a great many things 
that were not so good, also, if we are to believe history. 
But this does not lessen the value of the things they 
taught that we know to be good. They certainly taught 
the practical part of true religion and that is sufficient, 
If we follow their teachings we will be properous and 
happy. 

We must have a new church movement on earth, 
either inside or outside of our present churches, to carry 
on good work started by Guatama, Confucius and Jesus 
of Nazareth ; and we may need a new name to symbolize 
that new church work. The name Christianity has been 
disgraced by hypocritical priests who attached the "fall 
of man" drivel, the "immaculate conception" slander, the 
"son of God" babble and the holy murder on the cross 
teachings to Christianity, to bolster up the lazy, cowardly 
"vicarious atonement." dishonesty. None of which was 
ever taught by Jesus. This religious thought with the 
exception of the "fall of man," was written into the Bible 
over a century after the death of Jesus of Nazareth. 



134 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

This can be proven in any unbiased court in the world. 
Any one can prove this to his or her own satisfaction 
by just reading- and studying the Bible itself. I mean 
reading intelligently by a fair minded averag-e person. 
I am not referring to people who make a living out of 
their religion or people who would be considered below 
par in reason, taking the average inmate of our lunatic 
asylums as the standard. I am refering to intelligent 
fair minded people who are not satisfied with present 
earthly conditions and would like to see a better earth 
life. 

Dishonest priests have had these horrible things 
written in our Bible and we hug them to our breasts, 
thinking we will get a free ride into heaven by doing so. 

The Christian takes the cross, symbol of the foulest 
murder on earth, and kisses it. No greater sacrilege or 
mental crime against Jesus or God Almighty could be 
committed. This is worshiping an idol, a stone "cross" 
god. We show by our actions that we are glad Jesus 
was murdered by those ancient devils We excuse our- 
selves by thinking "it is the will of God." Be careful 
there, we have no right to think it is the "will of God." 
All the proof we have is what ancient priests wrote in 
the Bible over a hundred years after the death of Jesus, 
and what modern priests tell us ; priests who make an 
earthly living by selling soul things, heavenly things, 
religion. We should be careful what we think. 

Christianity purified, will be the grandest religion 
of earth. All it will contain will be what Jesus taught, 
the Fatherhood of God, the Brotherhood of man, future 
life of the soul and the Golden Rule. Not one thing 
more. Just these things logically enlarged, explained 
and placed in the concrete ; adapted to every day life. 

The whole world can rally to this religious standard 
and will rally to it under the name of Humanitarian, or 
a better name, and not under the name of Christian," 
unless our present churches clear the name "Christianity" 
of slander; because the horrid, ignorant superstitious, 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 135 

dishonest priests and preachers have disgraced the name 
for nearly two thousand years and have caused millions 
of intelligent moral people of earth to suffer untold 
torture, because they dared to disbelieve the men who 
made a living out of the supposedly sacred thing, heathen 
religion, which they called Christianity. 

Our present churches can clear the name by throwing 
overboard the heathen part of Christianity, but will they 
do it? I do not think so, but hope so. 

Priests caused Gallileo to be persecuted because he 
said "the world is round." Priests caused Bruno to be 
burned alive because he said so too, and because he did 
not believe what they told him to believe, and they did 
it in the name of Jesus and Christianity. 

Priests and preachers caused hundreds of delicate 
moral women to be burned alive as witches. Now do not 
say that it was the people, not the priests. I say it was 
the ancient priests who alone were to blame for these 
horrible outrages against thinking humanity. They 
taught the people and generated the thought that caused 
those murderers to kill their betters. Priests caused 
the multitude to demand the death of Jesus. Priests al- 
ways acted as judges at all the mock trials. 

Why did priests do it? Because they made a good 
living out of it. Just take the living out of the priest 
business in any age and the priest business will go the 
way of our late saloon business; the way our present 
banking business will go when the common people of 
earth wake up. 

The name ''Christian" has been too long disgraced 
by priests and preachers to ever be able to command 
the respect of the intelligent thinking, scientific people 
of earth. The very mention of the name "Christian" to a 
thinking person who is familiar with history, causes a 
shudder. He thinks of the murders, massacre's, wars, 
and injustice practiced by Christians in the name of Jesus- 
He thinks of the average blind faith of the heathen 



136 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

Christian kissing an image of the instrument with which 
Jesus was murdered. 

Think of kissing an image of the sword with which 
your dear mother was murdered, because you gained a 
benefit from it, because all of her property was left to 
you children, and then justify yourself with the thought 
that it was the will of God or that it was ''God's plan" 
so you children could get the money to live happy on 
ever after; so you children could go to an earthly heaven ! 

The lawyer (the preacher) you retained to settle the 
estate for a fat fee, could comfort you by assuring you 
that it was anciently written in the great law books of 
ancient times by solemn faced lawyers who made a 
living out of the lawyer business and therefore wished 
to make business good for lawyers, that such was God's 
plan of salvation for his "chosen" children, that it is 
"Gods Word." The lawyer could tell you this hideous 
"fairy" tale once a week for your natural life time and 
you could afford to tell your conscience and reason to 
"shut up" and not bother you while your lawyer was 
telling you just what your lazy cowardly, hypocritical 
self wanted to hear; how to enjoy heaven at some ones 
elses expense ; at the expense of your murdered mother 
or Jesus or just any body so you did not have to do any 
of the suffering other than shed an alligator tear or two 
now and then. 

I am not criticising religion. I am not making fun 
of you. I am just telling you something that you 
should be told for your own good as well as for the good 
of millions like you. You have got in a rut. You were 
placed in a rut when you were young and your mind was 
plastic and it will take a pretty hard jolt to get you out 
of it. You have played the religious "run sheep run" 
game so long that whenever your herders, the preachers, 
holler "run sheep run" you all scurry for the shadow of 
the cross and the blood of Jesus to protect you from the 
reason "wolf" that your religious herders fear so much. 

Now all you heathen, "run sheep run" Christians get 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 137 

ready to run when you read writings on religion because 
your religious and financial herders will sure yell at you 
when any writings on religion or ''money changers" 
appear. I know something about priests and bankers 
and am going to tell it or die trying to. They cannot 
stop me from telling it, but they can herd you into a 
pool of symbolical, innocent human blood under the 
shadow of the image of the instrument of torture that 
produced the actual innocent human blood shed by Jesus 
of Nazareth. 

I do not admire the guillotine. I would not kiss it 
or bow down before it. The cross and the guillotine are 
exactly the same to me. They belong to the same family. 
The cross is an ancestor of the guillotine. They are both 
instruments of murder ; only the cross happened to murder 
a more harmeless more innocent and greater man than 
the guillotine ever did. But this is not a good reason 
for the cross turning up its nose at the guillotine and 
refusing to speak as they pass by. Looking at it from 
a moral standpoint the guillotine is more respectable, 
more refined and more merciful than the cross. The 
cross was a cruel agonizing, long drawn out tormenter; 
some times for days. The guillotine puts it's victims 
out of misery at once. Let heathen Christianity take 
the guillotine to represent its faith ; it is more refined. It 
can furnish more blood on shorter notice to drink and 
wash Christians whiter than snow in. 

If Jesus had been killed by guillotine or a scaffold 
all heathen Christians of to-day would be kissing a min- 
ature guillotine or scaffold and be wearing them around 
their necks or in their noses or ears. Heathen Christians 
will do anything but think rationally on religion. Many 
modern heathen Christians will want to murder me for 
telling them a few things that they need to be told. But 
I advise these Christians not to do it, as it will immor- 
talize me and future heathen Christians will be kissing 
the electric chair because I was murdered in it. Dont 
do it my heathen Christian friends. Dont do it. While 



138 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

you would be doing me a great favor, as I would "kind-a" 
like to see how it seems to be immortalized, still — the 
electric chair might hurt me some and then see how 
many future back aches you would cause future Chris- 
tian heathens bowing and mumbling before an image 
of the electric chair I was murdered in. And just think 
of the perfectly good spit that would be wasted by 
kissing the electric chair. And look at the future alli- 
gator tears that would be shed for me. 

Your tears would not do me any good alter I was 
murdered and I'd "sorta" hate to have you drinking my 
blood and taking a bath in it too, or eating my flesh I 
might need that blood and flesh "when I am ressur- 
rected" as the heathen Christian remarked. 

Now really Christians, what difference is there be- 
tween you worshiping a stone cross and a heathen wor- 
shiping a stone god? The only difference I can see, is 
that you are worshiping an image of something that you 
know all about, murder and blood, while the heathen 
is worshiping an image of something he knows nothing 
about, the unknown God, the Creator of us all. For my 
part I think the heathen is the most rational and humane. 
If you ever want to make me feel sorry for myself just 
call me a Christian. I am not a Christian and you calling 
me one will not make it so. I am a Humanitarian. I 
belong to the Humanitarian Church. The Church of 
Common Sense. The world is my church, to aid others 
my religion. Yes I,m bad and I know it. You'r bad and 
you dont know it. I am just a little further along than 
you are when I admit it. The trouble with you Chris- 
tians is that you are so terribly conceited. You tell your 
little murder story and if others do not believe it you call 
them heathens and think yourselves above them when 
the real fact of the matter is, you are way below them 
in intellect even though you are above them in audacity. 

You brag around continually that Christianity caused 
all the great discoveries and made all the great inven- 
tions. A bigger fib was never uttered. All the great 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 139 

discoveries that Christianity ever made, is that the world 
is flat; that the sun is inferior to the earth and revolves 
around it; that the stars are lanterns hung in the sky 
every night by Gods' angels ; that this earth is the center 
of, and the most important thing in the universe ; that 
this earth is only six thousand years old ; that a certain 
Mr. Joshua could and did throw a monkey wrench in the 
machinery of our universe and caused the little old in- 
significant sun of ours to stand still, stay put, until said 
Joshua said "beat it sun, beat it." And for why? So 
Joshua could finish slaughtering people. The days were 
not long enough for war in juggler Joshua's time, so God 
just let him order the sun, moon and stars around as he 
saw fit. Christians made this grand discovery. No other 
book on earth, other then the Christian "books of books" 
records this great discovery, the discovery that a man of 
earth can order the planets around to suit his desires. 
Oh, I tell you heathen Christianity is a great thing when 
one becomes really acquainted with it. 

Christianity also discovered that "Thou shalt not suf- 
fer a witch to live." Now here is a really great and 
grand discovery. Had not the hundreds of thousand 
witches been killed and tortured, where would we be 
to-day? Now just think of it, where would we be? 

Do you suppose we would have a phonograph, a 
steam engine or a flying machine ? Give Christianity the 
credit for all these things because they did not suffer a 
witch to live for fifteen hundred years. 

Christians were the persistent brave fellows though? 
•Another great discovery made by Christianity was 
the instruments of torture to compel people to believe in 
Christianity; the fear of which caused Gallileo to get 
down on his knees and beg pardon of the Pope for in- 
sulting Christianity by saying the world is round. Just 
think of it, in olden times it was an insult to Christianity, 
punishable with death, to say that the world is round. 
Christianity was a great discoverer. It discovered that 
the world was flat and it would and did kill any one who 



140 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

disputed Christianity. And how did it do the killing? 
It tore them limb from limb ; it tore out the tongue by 
the roots, that denied the world to be flat, and it gouged 
out the eyes which saw the world to be round, and it 
burned alive any one who dared to oppose Christianity 
or its great ''discoveries," that were untrue. So much 
for Christianity as a discoverer. 

Now let us see what Christianity invented. Did 
Christianity invent the telescope, the microscope and 
other great scientific inventions? You know what Chris- 
tianity did to Gallileo, how he was persecuted, insulted 
and made to call his invention, the telescope, the work 
of the devil. Christianity did a lot to invent the tele- 
scope and bring it into use, didn't it? Why did Chris- 
tianity fight Gallileo so hard? because he opposed Chris- 
tianity in its untruth and false doctrine. Christianity 
said the world was flat. Gallileo said "it is round," 
Christianity was strong and over rode, rough shod, any- 
thing or any one who opposed it. Why will Christians 
want to kill any one who tells the truth about it? 

Christianity says the earth is only about six thousand 
years old, that man was put here perfect, and fell Dar- 
win and geologists have proven beyond a doubt that our 
earth is millions of years old and that men evolved, that 
there was no ''fall of man" as the Christians Bible tells 
about. What did Christianity do to Darwiin and other 
scientists? It slandered and persecuted them all it dared. 

The fact is, Christianity has slandered and persecuted 
every scientist of note who made great discoveries that 
proved Christianity to be false. It is true that a few of 
these great men were Christians or were supposed to be 
Christians, but it was not their Christianity that caused 
them to discover and invent things that proved Chris- 
tianity to be a lie. 

Most of our great inventors were professed non- 
Christians and Christianity faught them and their in- 
ventions or theories. Look over history and see what a 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 141 

struggle Chemistry had, developing against the opposi- 
tion of Christianity. 

The fact of the matter is, that heathen Christianity 
itself, is an invention, a priestly, religious invention, in- 
vented in the dark ages of the world, when men were 
grossly ignorant ; by men who crystallized their ignorance 
and called it Christianity. 

Heathen Christianity is a disgrace to the world. It 
professes to be an angel and is a very demon. Heathen 
Christianity is responsible for the horrible condition of 
our earth to-day. If you want better conditions reform 
Christianity or get rid of it altogether. Start something 
new. The name of Christianity is disgraced before both 
God and man. Take the best of Christianity and add to 
it by explanation if it cannot be added to in any other 
way and discard forever the old worn out rotten part of 
it, the heathen part and climb heaven ward in fact, as 
well as in theory. How can you Christians be happy 
with all this suffering and crime on earth? You, more 
than any one else are helping to produce it. You, at 
least, are doing nothing to remove the causes of it. You 
do not know what the causes are, because you spend too 
much time on your silly "Jesus save me," wail. For 
heaven sakes forget your little old selfish selves for a 
while and do what Jesus told you to do ; go to work for 
those below you. If you want the same old conditions 
on earth, just keep up the same old silly thought and 
actions and you will have the same old, or worse condi- 
tions. Jesus is not going to take the trouble to come 
back and save you, you are not worth saving when you 
pose as a silly image of a jealous, brutal, selfish, blood 
scattering god. Wake up ! 

One of the greatest stumbling blocks to progress is 
the good but unthinking Christians. They are in the 
great majority, that is speaking of Christians especially, 
(most christians are certainly honest and mean well) and 
nothing worth while can be accomplished with out the 
consent or cooperation of the majority. Just being honest 



142 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

and meaning well never makes the world progress, 
something else is needed. 

For instance : I knew a lady once, who was a leader 
in a church, a leader in a Sunday School, a leader in the 
town, a leader in every thing in the community that was 
good, refined, benevolent and big hearted. No children 
went hungry and ragged if she knew it. No sick or crip- 
pled child went without the tenderest care if she knew 
of such child. No grown person either, for that matter. 
This Christian lady made me dig up a few pennies oc- 
casionally to aid such cases, that I would not have aided, 
had it not been for her natural kind heartedness. But — 
when it came to religious matters, religious thought, this 
lady was a three year old girl only. She could no more 
reason on religious matters than a fish could reason on 
dry land. She would flop all over the beach of religious 
facts and manage to get back into the stagnant pool of 
religious thought in less time than it takes to tell it. 

She was usually right on every thing but her religion. 
Because she could reason on anything but religion, and 
she had fine reasoning powers. 

She told me one day that she believed the Bible to be 
the "Word of God," that she loved every work in the 
Bible, that Christianity was the religion of her dear 
mother and she would never go back on it. 

There you have it. She would not allow the sug- 
gestion to be made that possibly her mother was mis- 
taken. No, the woman was too loyal to her mother to 
do this. That is why she would not and could not reason 
on religious matters. 

Now it is such people as these, the people who do 
the most every day good in the world, that unknowing- 
ly hold the world back and keep us from progressing to 
a higher and better civilization. They prevent necessary 
changes in fundamental methods that would aid present 
and future improvements in religion, in governments and 
in business or economics. They block progress and cause 
the world to stand still and suffer more than they dream 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 143 

of. Their loyality is misplaced. Their judgment is poor. 
They are loyal to their mothers who may have been 
mistaken. They are loyal to their church that might be 
mistaken. They are loyal to their preacher who makes 
religion a business proposition. They "think" they are 
loyal to Jesus but they are unknowingly traitors to him. 
If they would only read their Bibles and study them 
intelligently they would see this. But they will not do 
it. The preachers teach them that to reason is to doubt, 
and that hell is paved with skulls of doubters. 

Christianity takes the benefit of the unselfish every- 
day goodness of such people. Christianity says : See 
how good I made that woman ? It is a lie ; Christianity 
did not make that woman good. She was born good. 
She was good in spite of Christianity and would have 
been better, more intelligent and able to do more good 
in the world had Christianity not filled her head so full 
of blood, murder and priestly ideas. She would have 
been just as good if she had been born under the Chinese 
religion, perhaps better. Christianity did not do anything 
for her but warp her mind and contract her soul. 
Spoiling her grand mentality by filling it full of hideous, 
impossible and "divinely" immoral fairy tales. Chris- 
tianity harmed this woman. 

This woman and thousands like her, does much for 
Christianity. They keep Christianity alive, they keep 
the dead clamy thing on earth centuries after its spirit 
has fled, leaving nothing but it's form, even as a mother 
will clasp her dead babe to her breast until long after 
mortification has set in. 

If it wasn't for the loyality of such grand, motherly 
women as this, Christianity would perish from the earth 
and we would have a better religion, a Jesus of Nazareth 
religion, which would usher in a better civilization and 
until these women are reached and educated no one 
need to look for better earthly conditions. 

The hope of the world lies with the heart of the world 
and all we need is educated hearts as well as educated 



144 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

brains. The women have a monoply on the world's heart 
and when they can be made to realize that they, at 
present, not only stand in the way of progress, but 
can actually build a better world themselves, there will 
be something doing. The men will never do it alone. 
They or the most of them are too busy making a living 
out of their religion and their business, to think or care 
much more than a day ahead of their time. The height 
of too many men's ambition is a little home brew, a 
cigaret with an occassional hunk of quivering animal 
flesh to eat. 

Now how can you expect any better conditions on 
earth? How can you expect anything but hard times, 
strikes, riots, bread lines, wars and rumors of wars, with 
unemployment, sickness, sorrow and premature death. 
Go to it people if you are happy I don't know why I 
should worry. 

Christianity grew out of spiritualism. The Bible is 
full of spiritualism and spiritualism is a dangerous thing 
to bother with. It is like fire, liable to do more damage 
than good. 

Is spiritualism a fact? Sure it is. So is dynamite a 
fact, but take my advise, do not exeperiment with either. 
I know something about both. Keep just as far from 
both as you can and you will live longer and happier. 
While it might be safe for a Sir Oliver Lodge to experi- 
ment with either, the average man or woman had better 
let both alone. 

Do not try to comprehend the unknowable. Do not 
try to comprehend God, for he who does will die trying. 
He will never do it, this side of death. Just "believe" 
in a God and let it go at that. Do not waste any time 
trying to "know" anything about God, other than study- 
ing God's works. His creations. If you cannot believe 
in any God or any religion, be honest with yourself and 
do not try to do it. While I believe in a God, I admire 
the man or woman who does not believe in a God, and is 
not afraid to say so. The God I believe in will think 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 145 

just as much of such man or woman as He does of me, 
other things being equal. What we "believe" regarding 
God does not help or injure Him. It is the way we act 
towards God's creatures that counts. 

Selfish rulers and designing priests use the name of 
God and religion as instruments to enslave the people 
and get a portion of what the people produce by hard 
work without paying the people anything for their pro- 
ducts. They get up pious frauds to fool the people with, 
a good deal like we fool the children with Santa Clause 
and other fairy tales. 

For instance Christmas and Easter were celebrated 
thousands years before Jesus of Nazareth was born. 
These holidays were ancient feast days. They were a 
part of ancient Sun worship. Christmas was the be- 
ginning of the new year, because the Sun had started 
to gain mastery again ; because the days had started to 
get longer, everybody rejoiced and celebrated. Which was 
right and proper. 

Easter was celebraed because the Sun had gained in 
it's battle over the night; the days were beginning to 
become longer than the nights. Spring had come. It 
was the resurrection of life, of all life, what an inspiring, 
glorious occasion ! 

The grass came, the buds burst, the flowers bloomed, 
the birds sang and built nests. All animal and vegetable 
life was renewed and man felt the invigorating influence 
of spring, the annual resurrection of life, all life, after a 
long period of inaction. The bursting into life of the 
apparently dead twig or seed; the bud, the blossm, the 
fruit. The resurrection of all life, not just the resurrec- 
tion of one man. This naturally called for a celebration. 

Christianity appropriated these age old feast days of 
pagan religions, and priests claimed that Jesus was born 
on one of these days and resurrected on the other. Of 
course no one can prove whether Jesus was or was not 
born on one of these days and resurrected on the other. 
But whether he was or not, is not important. These 



146 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

days were celebrated centuries before, and will always 
be celebrated for the same reasons they were first cele- 
brated. 

Christianity borrowed it's religion or the main part 
of it, from Moses. Moses borrowed the main part of his 
religion from the Egyptians. The Egyptians borrowed 
their religion from the Hindus. And \[ don't know 
where the Hindus got their religion and do not care. 

Each one of these religions started out with some 
truth and collected all the filthy error that could stick 
to them until they contained more error than truth; 
until they were all form and no spirit, when they gradually 
passed away, even as Christianity is passing away in 
our day. 

The sacred books of Egypt, where Moses was born 
and raised, taught most everything that Christianity 
teaches, though in a somewhat cruder form ; such as the 
"one God" above all others ; a future life and future 
judgment; a morality of justice and mercy; the Egyp- 
tians put much stress on the doctrine of a future life. 
Most of these ancient religions had their "virgin mother 
of God ;„ their "Christ leaders or saviours" and their 
"miraculous births and deaths." 

There is absolutly nothing in Christianity that was 
not taught by "heathen" religions centuries before Jesus 
was born. 

Christianity is full of supertition and its prayer is a 
selfish wail addressed to a god who caused his own 
son to be treacherously betrayed and brutally murdered, 
asking the god to grant a benefit to the human through 
cold blooded murder. Priests and preachers are not 
wholly to blame for this state of affairs. Nine tenths 
of them know better, and would teach better if the 
people would allow it. They should be teachers and 
leaders of live thought, instead of preachers of a dead 
religion. 

The man who spends his valuable time working with 
a microscope or telescope that he may observe and 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 147 

record some new fact in nature that will aid or instruct 
mankind ; aid in the cure or prevention of disease ; 
instruction regarding weather conditions that may injure 
or increase crops, and who usually works without salary, 
is a better servant of God than the average preacher who 
with sanctimoneous face tells other people what they 
must do to go to heaven and what they must not do or 
go to hell, and for which telling he receives a regular 
pay envelope ; doing most of his work on the Sabbath 
that he would send other people to jail for working on. 
In order to believe in and follow Jesus a preaceher should 
be a Jesus to his congregation, but few of them are ; they 
are only star boarders who never really pay their board. 

One of the greatest errors of Christianity is the asser- 
tion that no one dare approach his Creator, personall}^; 
that we all must come through a third party, a Jesus, a 
pope or a church. This is silly and unjust. The idea 
was invented by priests. The kind of priests that Jesus 
fought. The kind of priests that demanded and caused 
the horrible death of Jesus. Selfishness and hypocritical 
greed are the parents of this idea. The priests fix it so 
it takes money to get salvation. They evidently need 
the money. 

To say that an innocent babe could not go direct to 
it's Heavenly Father without the aid of a "saviour" 
simply because an ancestor of that babe, some thousands 
of years before it's birth, had committed a sin, is a crime 
against humanity. And to say that God or Jesus said so, 
is a worse crime against! God and Jesus. 

It is hard for me to believe that any sane, thinking 
man can believe this unless taught it in early childhood, 
and it is not fair to childhood to teach such unjust ideas 
to trusting children. 

It is a Christian theory that God created man perfect, 
the man was tempted and "fell." That God became an- 
gry and pronounced a curse on man and drove man 
from Him. That man went from bad to worse and God 
in his effort to teach man a lesson, destroyed the human 



148 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

race by a flood saving one family only. That this did 
not help matters. Then God wishing to coax man back 
to Him, He formulated what Christians call the "Great 
Scheme of Salvation," which included the sending of 
God's only son to earth to be immorally born and ignobly 
die, after leading a sorrowful life among traitors and 
demons. That God did the planning, man did the mur- 
dering, and Jesus furnished the blood to wash away the 
sins of Christians and make them whiter than snow, so 
said Christians could face God again without getting 
stage fright or feeling nervous. 

Grand scheme for every one but Jesus. The Jews had 
fun spilling blood. A man-made god had fun planning 
the blood spilling, and selfish thoughtless heathen 
Christians have lots of fun going to heaven via the lazy, 
cowardly, blood spilling route and why should I object? 

Well, for instnace, I have been asked several times 
if I was a Christian and if not, why? And I have always 
answered : show me a little proof of your god-made, 
blood spilling plan, that our courts would accept as real 
evidence and I will talk it over with you ; you have no 
authority other than the Bible and why should we be- 
lieve the Bible? "Because it is the word of God, it says 
so itself." A dime novel might say the same thing. 

Few men or women have desire or ability to think 
much or deeply and reason correctly, hence the tendency 
to mentally lean on ready made thought and precedent; 
Stare Decisis. 

The religion, the politics, the business methods of 
the father or mother of the average man or women seems 
to be good enough for them. The average man or woman 
would rather be loyal to custom than to be thoughtful. 

The first law of human nature is self-preservation. 
The second law is the tendency of man to gratify his 
desires With the least amount of exertion. The average 
person will not climb a tree for oranges when he is sure 
he can obtain just as good oranges without climbing for 
them. Under these circumstances, if he does climb the 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 149 

tree it will be more for a desire for adventure than a 
desire for the best oranges. 

Man is naturally a religious creature and must have 
a religion' of some sort, and the religion he usually gets 
is the one that comes the easiest, comes like his language 
comes to him, from his mother's lips while sitting on her 
knees ; the one who taught him before he was able to 
think for himself. The one who taught him before he 
was able to analyze or question, who taught the thought 
•that to question was to be cast into hell. All "revealed" 
religions teach this punishment idea more or less, but 
none more forcibly than heathen Christianity : "There 
shall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.'* 
"Depart ye into everlasting punishment." "Believe or 
be damned." Great language for a "Prince of Peace" to 
be using? 

Beautiful isn't it. Suppose you are honest and in- 
telligent and just cannot believe the bloody thing called 
heathen Christianity? 

Heathen Christianity lives to-day because designing 
priests know the weakness of human nature and warp 
the minds of the young so they may live an easy gentle- 
nxanly life, fattening on the blood and tears of humanity, 
and because the people approve of it and wish the priests 
to stunt the minds of our young. Every red-blooded 
intelligent priest knows that he is grafter. A few weak 
minded ones do not know it. 

Read below what Andrew D. White has to say about 
Christianity. Mr. White was once President of Cornell 
University. He was also Ambassador to Germany. 

"It threatened doom in this life and the next against 
investigators on new lines. It forbid the world to seek 
any new methods and to follow any new paths which 
thinking men might find. It claimed that all knowledge 
is in the Bible, and that anyone who dared to suggest any 
knowledge not in the Bible was a heathen and death 
was too good for him. It tried by the torture chamber 
and death sentence to create a disrespect for, and fear of 



150 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

scientific pursuits. It condemned the study of science 
by observation, comparison and experiments. It con- 
sidered physical investigations as an impious intrusion 
into the work of God." 

"The establishment of Christianity arrested the nor- 
mal development of the physical sciences for over fifteen 
hundred years. The cause of this arrest was two-fold : 
first, there was created an atmosphere in which the 
germs of physical science could hardly grow, an at- 
mosphere in which, all seeking in Nature for truth as 
truth, was regarded as futile. The general belief de- 
rived from the New Testament Scriptures was, the 
thought that the end of the world was at hand ; that the 
last judgment was approaching ; that all existing physical 
nature was soon to be destroyed : hence, the greatest 
thinkers in the church generally poured contempt upon 
all investigators into a science of nature, and insisted 
that everything except the saving of souls was folly." 

Now just see what Christianity has done for science. 
Christianity for fifteen hundred years looked on science 
as an unwelcome batch of kittens and tried to drown 
them, but as usual the cats got home first. Astronomy, 
Biology, Geology and Chemistry were some of the cats. 

Say people, you should read Andrew D. White on 
religion, Get his books at the public library and read 
them. 

Heathen Christianity is giving it's last kicks. The 
appointing of special days and making house to house 
drives, the holding of emotional, saw dust meetings to 
get new mentally lame converts and a little money inci- 
dentally, are straws telling which w'ay the religious wind 
is blowing. Los Angeles records 59 religions and less 
than one half of the people belonging to churches. The 
majority will have none of it. 

Can a person be a Christian and be a business man, 
a policeman, etc? Sure he can, he can even be a robber, 
white slaver and a murderer and still be a first class 
heathen Christian. All he has to do when he gets weary 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 151 

committing crime is to call a priest, confess, pay the 
priest and ride into heaven over a smooth boulevard, 
paved with human crime, human flesh and human blood 
with a cross every now and then to tell him that he is 
on the right road. 

I give below some Bible references that I dare any 
Christian} Sunday school teacher, to read and explain to 
their classes. That I dare any Christian father to read to 
his grown girls. That I dare any preacher or priest to 
read and explain to the people who say that they believe 
every word of the Bible to be the "Word of God." I 
could give a hundred times as many. 

I am not criticising the Bible I am criticising the 
silly people who think the Bible to be the Word of God. 
Lok at Genesis, chapter 38 paragraph 9. Talk about 
moving pictures being immoral ! Just read this whole 
chapter. Should this nastiness be in the "Word of God?" 
Graciousy people ! what kind of red light district writing 
is this, to be the Word of God ; of what kind of a god, 
if it is not a man made heathen god? Ask some one 
who knows what the words "in unto" and "seed," mean 
as well as other strange words to you, and then go off 
somewhere and blush for the Christian "Word of God," 
and while you are blushing just read what James Free- 
man Clarke, a Jesus of Nazareth Christian, and an autho- 
rity on all religions, has to say on page 61 of his review 
of all religions. 

"The sacred literature of the Chinese is perfectly free 
from everything impure or offensive. There is not a 
line but might be read in any family circle in England." 

How does this compare with Chapter 38 of Genesis 
the Christian "Word of God?" We have always been 
taught to despise the Chinese as heathens. The Chinese 
"Word of God" has no red light literature in it. Who 
are the biggest heathens us or the Chinese? 

See chapter 12, paragraph 10, Genesis. See what a 
cowardly schemer the father of "God's Chosen People" 
was. A nice manly fellow to start a chosen people with ! 



152 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

Also, see chapter 16 of Genesis, to find out what man- 
ner of woman was the wife of the father of ''God's 
Chosen People." They connived between themselves 
to make a white slave of their hired girl and after the 
man of the house gets the maid in trouble and she can 
no longer "serve" him they kick her into the street be- 
cause the woman of the house got jealous after making 
the indecent proposal herself. Read this and think it 
over carefully, and see if you can find any morality, any 
honesty, any refinement or any decency in it, remem- 
bering all the time that it is a part of the Christian 
"Word of God." 

You say: "Oh, that is in the old Testament; that has 
all been done away with." Then why is the Old Testa- 
ment printed and carefully preserved and carried down 
through the centuries as a part of the "Word of God?" 
Why is not the rotten old thing burnt up if it is super- 
ceded by by the New Testament? 

I'll tell you why. The priests cannot get along with- 
out it. They cannot make a living without it. The "fall 
of man" is in the Old Testament. They- cannot get along 
without this theory to bolster up their "saviour" theory. 
The saviour theory was predicted by priests in the Old 
Testament and fulfilled by priests in the New Testa- 
ment. 

The whole thing is a silly bungling plot. Some of 
the predictions in the old Testament were translated to 
appear as being fulfilled in the New Testament. All 
done by priests of course. Some honest but idiotic, and 
some dishonest and foxy. 

If there had been no "fall of man" in the Old Testa- 
ment there could be no "saviour" of men in the New 
Testament. There would have been no need of any. He 
would have been a useless piece of furniture. Destroy 
the Old Testament and heathen Christianity falls in 
pieces. This is why priests hug the Old Testament and 
preserve it. So do not use the excuse that "it is in the 
Old Testament." Be game. The Old Testament is one 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 153 

of our religious ancestors and we should not try to 
disown it when we are cornered. 

Read Genesis chapter 19, paragraph 8; a Mr. Lot, 
one of ''God's Chosen People," offers to give his two in- 
nocent daughters to a howling mob, for the mob to do 
what it cared to with them, the father virtually suggests 
making white slaves out of them, if the vicious mob 
would just go away and not harm Mr. Lot or his men 
friends. Can you beat it? What business has this kind 
of trash doing in the "Word of God?" The Chinese 
wouldn't stand for it but we do. 

Now just take a peak! at paragraph 32 of same book 
and chapter last quoted and see what fine daughters this 
man Lot had. Weren't they peaches? What is this, worse 
than red light district stuff, doing in the "Word of God?'* 

You Christian Sunday school teachers read this to 
your classes next Sunday. It is a part of your "Word 
of God" and you should study and teach it. 

My writings will nearly shock you to death ; but 
how about some portions of the "Book of Books?" 

I am not criticising you or your religion just now. 
I am simply introducing your religion to you. The 
trouble is that you know nothing^ at all about your own 
religion. The more you know about it the less you will 
believe in it. 

Outside of the Fatherhood of God and the Brother- 
hood of man using the Golden Rule, and the doctrine of 
a soul and a future life Christianity is mostly a rotten 
mess that must be cleaned up and I intend to help all 
I can. 

See Numbers, chapter 31 verses 13 to 35. Beautiful 
thoughts. Exodus, chapter 29 paragraph 10 to 21. How 
inspiring. Exodus, chapter 31 paragraph 14 and 15. This 
is certainly encouraging. Exodus, chapter 22 paragraph 
18. Be careful girls and don't doll up too much and 
make yourselves too bewitching. Exodus, chapter 3 
paragraph 22; chapter 11 paragraph 2, also chapter 12 
paragraph 35 and 36. The heathen Christian god taught 



154 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE r 

stealing in the Old Testament, but — they say he has 
reformed in the New Testament. Good, even a god then 
is not above a little reforming now and then. Exodus, 
chapter 34 paragraph 14, a narrow minded jealous god. 
Exodus, chapter 21 paragraph 6. The heathen Chris- 
tian god teaches and approves of human slavery. Abra- 
ham Lincoln knew more than such a god. Exodus, 
chapter 29, paragraphs 10 to 21 ; Exodus, chapter 24, 
paragraph 6 to 8. Moses was the boy that could sprinkle 
blood for you. 

For tricky members of ''God's Chosen People" see 
Genesis, chapter 30, paragraph 30; shows you what a 
"foxy grandpa," Father Jacob was. Of course Laban 
had cheated him, but one crime does not make another 
crime a virtue. Also Jacob's trick on Esau, Genesis, all 
of chapter 31 ; an angel of the Christian god advises 
Jacob to commit crime ; Genesis, chapter 34, trickery and 
brutality of Jacob's sons ; "Chosen People of God." 

It would take pages to record the instances of crime 
and indecency recorded in the Christian "Word of God." 
Things that the average person does not know about. 
We must discard all this indecency and record of crim- 
inality. We must destroy it and have a new interpre- 
tation of Christianity under a new name. We must dis- 
card this "J^sus save me" wail. Pure thoughts, good 
deeds, hard work, with some prayerful contemplation 
will in time save anybody. Nothing else will. 

Purified Christianity; the Fatherhood of God, the 
Brotherhood of man, the doctrine of a soul and future 
life and the Golden Rule will bring heaven on earth. 
But — how the ignorant, superstitious, weak minded 
will fight for the old order of things. 

Of course preachers will be indignant at the asser- 
tion that they are in the preaching business for any 
other reason than that they are "serving the Lord," that 
they are merely answering the "call of the Lord." But 
just the same most of them usually hear the "call" that 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 155 

promises the most salary and easiest time, the nicest 
churches and the richest congregations. 

Some say: "If the Bible is not the ''Word of God" 
why has it lived and attracted the attention of men for 
so many centuries?" 

Because of the good that is in it. But that is no 
reason why people should devour the mental trash also 
that is there. Another reason for the Bible living is 
because of the easy living that thousands of morally 
and mentally weak people make, by keeping the Bible 
alive. 

Again, I might ask you why does small pox come 
down to us through the centuries and command the 
attention of the world? Because a thing lives is no 
argument in favor of it being a blessing, looked at from 
a human standpoint. Heathen Bibles live also. They 
have lived longer than the Christian Bible. 

Now a word or two in regard to the New Testament, 
which contains many beautiful things as well as many 
untruths and contradictions ; also some vicious ideas. 
Some people say : take the good and let the bad alone. 
These words sound fair enough but a thinking person 
who is honest and cares for the welfare of his race will 
not utter them or listen to them. Because he sets a bad 
example to those below him to follow. We all have 
those below us who copy from us and are more apt to 
copy the bad in us then to copy the good. If we approve 
of a book that has bad and good in it, those below us 
will be more likely to approve of the bad in that book 
and let the good alone. While we, in taking the good 
and silently letting the bad alone, are committing what 
might properly be called a negative crime. We should 
take the good and condemn the bad in the strongest 
terms. 

If you indorse a book in which stealing, murdering 
and robbing is praised and sanctioned, even though the 
same book, in other chapters does teach virtue and 
gentleness, you thereby indorse the vileness when you 



156 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

praise the book without specially condemning the bad. 
When you say that such a book is the "Word of God," 
you cause weak minded people below you, who look up 
to you as a leader, to get a false impression and make 
the mistake of accepting as good, much of what you 
would consider bad. You set a bad example by allowing 
your mental religious self to associate with bad company 
and thereby mislead others. 

How about Luke Chapter 14, paragraph 26. Does 
that sound like "peace on earth good will to men?" Also 
Matthew chapter 10 paragraph 34. Ditto — these are not 
words of Jesus of Nazareth. They are words of 
scheming priests, wishing to enslave and intimidate 
human minds so they may have wordly power and a 
nice easy living. 

See Matthew 15, paragraphs 24 and 26. This does 
not sound like Jesus of Nazareth. Calling everybody 
but Jews, dogs. Did Jesus say this? Matthew 5, para- 
graph 39; who believes this, or in other words who 
practices it? Still people claim to be followers of Jesus. 

What do you make out of Mathew 24 paragraph 34 
and Luke 21 paragraph 32? According to the Bible 
Jesus virtually said that men standing before him could 
see his second coming before they passed on. Many are 
expecting him nearly two thousand years after he said 
he'd come. Jesus must have gotten dates mixed or the 
Bible has words mixed or — something else. I am certain 
Jesus wouldn't lie about a little thing like that, and how 
could a god be mistaken? Oh, I know your priest or 
preacher will be able to explain it to your satisfaction 
by just making a few uncanny passes over your im- 
agination and then you will see as clear as mud. The 
priest will explain to you that the word "generation" 
means two thousand years or any old thing that he 
takes a notion to do and you will believe him too. If 
he told you that fear means love you'd believe him. He 
tells you to fear the Lord because fear means love and 
you swallow it. If he told you hate meant love you 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 157 

would believe it. But go to it, believe the sort of stuff 
that fits your mentality. 

Luke 5, paragraph 32. ''I came not to call the 
righteous but Christians to repentance." That's the idea. 
Jesus knew what he was talking about. Look it up and 
see for yourself, I am quoting from memory and might 
possibly have twisted a word a little, but the meaning 
is there. 

See Luke 6, paragraph 1 to 9; also chapter 13, para- 
graph 13 to 16 and chapter 14, paragraph, 3 to 6. Jesus 
was criticised and and threatened for working on the 
Sabbath. We have a lot of silly vicious modern Sabbath 
worshippers who need a Jesus to rebuke them. I do not 
believe in a second coming of Jesus but, honestly, I be- 
lieve there ought to be one, or a fool killer or something. 
Yes, maybe I would be the first one to get killed. I 
never thought of that, but any way I wouldn't have to 
go to the Christian heaven unless I wanted to, which 
would help some. I can tell you right here, I don't 
want to get to heaven through blood and murder. It 
makes no difference to me whether the man is double 
crossed first by Jews, then by a god, or whether he is 
stood up back to a wall and shot before sunrise. I just 
simply will not profit in the next world by any kind of 
murder in this world. I don't care a continental whether 
it is ''divine" murder or just the ordinary hang man kind. 
I will not kiss the rope that hangs a man ; I will not kiss 
the spear that pierces a man ; I will not kiss the gun that 
kills a man ; neither will I bow before or kiss the horrible 
cross that killed the best man of earth. Anyone who 
will do it is deficient mentally or he is a criminal. Take 
your choice. I will have to get to heaven some other 
way than by drinking blood or wading through blood 
if I ever get there. If I can't get to heaven on my own 
merits, through giving and receiving love, I will try to 
stear clear of heaven. No one shall suffer for my sins 
except myself, when it comes to matters between my 
Creator and myself. 



158 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

The Bible as a collection of ancient literature some of 
it history, written by people of various degrees of ability 
and morality, is an interesting book and should be read 
and studied by everyone who desires to be well informed. 
But, the Bible as the "Word of God" is a hideous mon- 
ster, a gigantic piece of pious fraud, and blasphemy 
against the Creator, Sustainer and Ruler of vast Universes 
of worlds. It is a venomous dragon, heathen born, and 
nurtured by a humanity hating, power loving, priestly 
class, crawling down through the ages, devouring and 
crushing countless thousands of men, women and chil- 
dren spreading hatred, pain, torture, sorrow and death ; 
causing blood and tears to flow through all ages. It 
produces ignorance and superstition. It used to crush 
truth and science by means of the torture chamber, dun- 
geon and the burning stake, simply by those words of 
black magic such as "witch", "infidel", "heretic" hissed 
through the venomous lips of popes, priests and preachers 
until at last science, "the light of the world" and "the 
hope of mankind" became strong enough to stop it's 
progress, but is not dead yet. It is only wounded and 
science must and will finish it's work. 

This huge monster has stood squarely across the path 
of progres for near two thousand years and contested 
every inch of the way made by science in it's struggle 
to enlighten and free humanity. It still stands across 
the path of progress and will still fight, through the 
priests, to hold it's sway over the world, but it is a weak, 
sick dragon in our day, thanks to the bravery and intel- 
ligence and sacrifices of countless thousands who, 
through untold misery accomplished the partial defeat 
of the monster. 

"If it was not for one thing I would not disturb 
Christians in their religion, I would not disturb what 
they believe to be divine revelation. I would not disturb 
their peace and quiet, and by reason wake up the minds 
of the simple and unreflecting. I would not endeavor 
to turn the unwary out of the way of idiotic peace and 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE: 159 

lazy mental subordination. I say if it were not for one 
thing, I would let the unthinking- Christian hug his 
heathenish religion and go my way but I cannot do this 
even though it cost me sorrow, pain and torture and 
even death itself, because I feel that a burden has been 
placed on my shoulders by a higher power than earthly 
man, and as I have been shown through my intelligence 
the light, I must carry, the burden and deliver the 
message even though the heavens fall, for me." 

Religious Christianity has always stood in the way of 
science and progress and it always will. The first thing 
to be done before trying to help usher in a higher civili- 
zation is to remove the monster lying across the path of 
progress. 

Our arithmatics, spelling books and dictionaries are 
words of man. They rarely give us wrong information. 
We can rely on what they tell us. 

The Bible is said to be the ''Word of God" and it is 
full of misstatements and errors. How long would a 
"word of man" stay in our schools if it contained the 
misstatements and nastiness so common in the Christian 
"Word of God?" 

The Bible says this earth is about six thousand years 
old. Geology says, and has proved it to be millions of 
year old. 

The Bible and it's student taught for two thousand 
years or more that our earth is flat, standing still with 
the sun revolving around it. Astronomy teaches and 
proves it to be round and to be moving around the sun. 

The Bible teaches that man was made perfect and 
"fell." 

Biology teaches that man has evolved or developed 
from lower animal life. 

This all proves that the Bible, the Christian "Word 
of God" is not a good authority. It is full of error. The 
Bible has caused much crime and murder to be com- 
mitted on earth and a great deal of it to be done in the 
name of Jesus and the cross. The Bible is full of mis- 



160 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

takes and blunders. The Bible recognizes and upholds 
slavery which has caused untold millions of people to 
suffer. 

The Bible was responsible for slavery in our own 
country which caused our civil war. The Bible caused 
the wrong idea of slavery to live and grow and is re- 
sponsible for misery and suffering this wrong idea 
caused. !i 

What Christianity and the Bible has done in the past 
it would do again in the future under similiar conditions. 
It is a fact that Christianity and the Bible has caused 
thousands of the best of humanity to be murdered in 
ancient times, but I would like to see all that is good in 
Christianity saved and see all that is not good, crushed 
and discarded. All the good that is in Christianity was 
copied from religions that were here before Christianity 
came on earth. There is more error than truth in it 
and it must pass on. It is a crime against our young 
to teach them the falsehoods of Christianity as infallible 
truth. 

The kind of Christianity that most of our modern 
churches teach does not make bad men better in an 
instant, if at all. It makes cowards out of bad men if 
they take any stock in it. They never take much stock 
in the Christian heaven as their mentality cannot com- 
prehend it. They fear the Christian hell, which has a re- 
straining influence and thereby acomplishes some good. 
But more good can be accomplished by being honest 
with bad men and teaching them that the only hell they 
will ever know is of their own making ; the one they are 
continually building by their every day thoughts and 
acts ; the hell they are constructing out of 'thought 
bricks" and "act timbers ;" and that they could just as 
well be constructing a palace of happiness instead. 

They can be made to realize this. They know that 
the theft committed ten years before is recorded in their 
book of life as plain as though it was committed but 
yesterday. They know that it cannot be erased by them 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 161 

or any power on earth. They know their good acts 
stand out as clearly and that their reward or punishment 
will be the difference between the good thoughts and 
acts and the bad ones. It does not take a "Saviour" to 
tell us this. 

Moses was a monster. He ordered thirty two thou- 
sand young girls into white slavely at one time. The 
Jewish god was a manmade god, made by Moses the 
Monster. The Jewish god was the father of the Chris- 
tian god. We must have a bigger and broader minded 
god a Humanitarian God, whose chosen people are all 
people of earth regardless of what they "believe." 

"I have been condemned by! a preacehr for trying to 
take from the poor hard working widow her only comfort 
the idea of a blessed redeemer and the future happiness 
in the next world ; a thought that sustains her in her 
hardships and lightens her long weary hours of toil, and 
I am asked what I am going to give her in return?" 

"Well, in the first place I am going to help change 
our economic conditions so as to shorten her hours of 
toil by half and double her pay which will help some. 
It will give her time to improve her mind, wear better 
clothes, be somebody, and let truth have a chance to 
crowd from her mind those "beautiful" Christian fairy, 
murder tales that makes her a mental as well as a 
physical slave. I will teach her that she can be her own 
"redeemer." That if she does what she knows to be 
right, that she will not need any other redeemer; that 
she is just as good and worthy as the best mortal on 
earth as long as she behaves herself; that she has a 
right to say to priests and preachers and redeemers: 
get from before the love of God and me. I will answer 
to God Almighty for my own sins and keep my money 
to spend to improve my mental condition instead of 
giving to noisy, shallow preachers who lives off of the 
earnings of such as me, without working like I do." 

"I will help usher in a new economic system that 
will put the useless, idle though healthy and able, priests 



162 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

and preachers included, to work to make up the extra 
amount it takes to shorten the hours and increase the 
pay of the 'poor widow woman, the preachers and ban- 
kers seem so concerned about." 

Foot Note 

In the foregoing and following chapter, I have quoted 
from, (to me) unknown authors. I have put their words 
in quotation marks, and I would give credit if I knew 
the names of the authors. 

All of the matter in quotation marks, unsigned, from 
this page to page 180 are words of John E. Remsburg. 

I have quoted or drawn from the writings of Andrew 
D. White — James Freeman Clark — Robert G. Ingersoll 
— Thomas Jefferson — Tom Paine — David Hume — Vol- 
taire — Victor Hugo — Robert Burns — Dr. Talmage — 
Henry Ward Beecher — Lord Byron — Martin Luther — 
Zoroaster — Pythagoras — Diogenes — Pittacus — Thales — 
Aristotle — Plato — Plutarch — ^Cato — Cicero — Seneca — 
Jesus of Nazareth and many others. I have put into 
the concrete a few of their best thoughts on things worth 
while in this life while exposing what seems to me to be 
some of the bad thoughts of some of the above named 
authors. 



HEATHEN CHRISTIANITY 

''No man taketh it (life) from me, but I lay it down 
myself" John 10-18. According to the Bible the mythi- 
cal Jesus was a suicide. Can a suicide save the race? 
Are these words of the real Jesus or are they words of 
priests? 

Christians would try and cause us to believe that 
their god is so just that he could not possibly let man's 
sin go unpunished and so unjust that he could cruelly 
murder the best man of earth to get blood to wash men's 
sin clothing in. 

Martin Luther said: ''If men only believe enough 
in Christ they can commit adultery and murder a thou- 
sand times a day without periling their salvation." 

Was Martin Luther a Christian? What kind of a 
Christian was he? 

Christianity appeals to credulity instead of morality. 
Christianity says, believe and be saved. Morality says 
be good and be saved. If you do not "believe," you 
cannot become a Christian, no matter how good and 
noble you are. 

You all know Dr. Talmage the great Christian 
teacher. This is what he said : 

"Today I offer you the pardon of the gospel — full 
pardon, free pardon. I care not what your crime has 
been. Though you say you have committed a crime 
against God, against your own soul, against your fellow 
man, against your family, against the day of judgment, 
against the cross of Christ — whatever your crime has 
been, here is pardon, full pardon, and the very moment 
you take the pardon, your heavenly Father throws his 
arms about you and says : 'My son, I forgive you. It 
is alright. You are as much in my favor now as if you 
never had sinned'." 

Now isn't this beautiful religious molasses with 
which to catch silly human flies? And the pity of it all 



164 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

is, that Martin Luther and Dr. Tarmage were honest 
conscientious men who believed the Bible to be the word 
of God and followed where the Bible led : to idiotic 
criminal teachings. 

If these gentlmen were correct in their teachings, 
what is the use in being good? Why not have a good 
time committing crime all our lives and just before we 
die, "believe," ''confess," "ask forgiveness," fall into the 
arms of God and go straight to heaven? Lazy, easy, 
cowardly, dishonest and silly is it not? Of course the 
intelligent would not reason this way, but the ignorant 
and brutal do. 

Martin Luther said : "He that says the gospel re- 
quires works for salvation, I say flat and plain, he is 
a liar." A lazy religion for you. 

Does this sound like a true follower of the true Jesus 
of Nazareth? No matter how moral you are, how self- 
sacrificing and how benevolent, you will go to hell if you 
do not "believe" what heathen Christianity teaches. See 
Mark 16-16: "He that believeth and is baptised shall 
be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned." 
How gentle and loving! Are these words of Jesus of 
Nazareth or words of priests spoken by the mythical 
Christ, the half-god, half-man person? How much longer 
is the world going to stand for this blasphemy? 

Jesus, the humane man, could not and did not utter 
such words. Come Christians, believe in the better 
part of your own great and grand religion. Forget what 
these heathen priests wrote in your Bible. 

Read what a great man once said, it may shock you 
a little but you need to be shocked some, it will be good 
for you, it will not hurt you at all. 

"Redden your hands with human blood ; blast by 
slander the fair fame of the innocent; strangle the smiling 
child upon its mothers knees; deceive, ruin and desert 
the beautiful girl who loves and trusts you, and your 
case is not hopeless. For all this and all these, you may 
be forgiven. For all this and all these, that bankrupt 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 165 

court established by gospel, will give you a discharge ; 
but deny the existence of these gods, and the sweet and 
tearful face of mercy becomes lived with eternal hate. 
Heaven's golden gates are shut, and you with an infinite 
curse ringing in your ears, with the brand of infamy on 
your brow, commence your endless wanderings in the 
lurid gloom of hell — an immortal vagrant, an eternal 
outcast, a deathless convict." — Robert G. IngersoU. 

Also read what Robert Burns, the poet, said: *'A 
gloomy heaven above opening its jealous gates to the 
nineteen-thuosand part of the tithe of mankind, and be- 
low an inexorable Hell expanding its leviathan jaws 
for the vast residue of mortals. O doctrine comfortable 
and healing to the weary wounded soul of man !" 

The above is what Robert Burns had to say about 
heathen Christianity, was he mistaken? Was Robert 
IngersoU mistaken? Was Dr. Talmage and Martin 
Luther mistaken? 

Matthew 25-46: "And these shall go away into ever- 
lasting punishment." No one but a devilish priest could 
or would utter such words. As if we did not have 
enough misery in this world without human devils 
clothed in cowls spreading mental anguish among the 
ignorant and superstitious, calling it religion. Jesus of 
Nazareth never spoke these words. 

Heathen Christianity must be gotten rid of at all 
costs, as we cannot have world peace until we do get 
rid of it. It is a war maker and always has been. It 
divides well meaning people and causes them to fight. 

"Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire." 
Matthew 25-41. Also Mark 16-16: "He that believeth 
not shall be damned." Do you think for a minute that 
Jesus of Nazareth ever spoke such words? If he did he 
was not the loving brotherly person we think him to 
have been. I say he never uttered such words or thought 
such thoughts, and that such sayings were written into 
the Bible by designing and dishonest priests, and should 
be scratched out, torn out or burned out ot the "Word 



166 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

of God." Such writing's make devils of God and Jesus. 

If all people will read their Bibles intelligently we 
will soon get rid of heathen Christianity. But while 
reading the Bible please remember the following state- 
ments that can be proven beyond the question of a doubt: 

The Golden Rule was taught by Confucius, Pittacus, 
Thales, Sextus Isocrates, Aristotle and others long be- 
fore Jesus of Nazareth was born. 

Epicurus said: "It is more blessed to give than re- 
ceive." 

Aristotle taught that it is better to bear an injury 
than retaliate. Jesus taught the same, afterwards. 

Diogenes Laertus records many Greek philosophers 
who taught ''love your enemies." So did Jesus, after- 
wards. 

All the good that is in Christianity was taught by 
Pagan religions before Christianity came. It is my 
opinion that Jesus taught it better than any one before 
or since his time. I may be wrong but this is my 
present belief in regard to the matter. 

St. Paul was, and is considered the greatest Christian 
preacher that ever lived. He believed in and 
preached slavery. Many believe him to have been 
inspired. If this be inspiration give me something else. 

Here is some of St. Pauls inspiration contained in 
Corinthians, 14-34: ''Let your women keep silence in 
the churches for it is not permitted unto them to speak, 
but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also 
saith the law. And if they will learn anything let them 
ask their husbands at home ; for it is a shame for a 
woman, to speak in the church." 

Also 1 Timothy 2-11 to 15: "Let the women learn 
in silence and subjection." 

And again, Colossians 3-18: "Wives submit your- 
selves to your husbands." Ephesians 5-24: "As the 
church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to 
their husbands in everything." 

St. Paul was a would-be woman enslaver. He vir- 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 167 

tually said that women were inferior to men and should 
go way back and sit down. But mighty few of them are 
doing it. They evidently will have none of St. Pauls 
inspiration. St. Paul was not a believer in science. He 
said : **The wisdom of this world is foolishness with 
God." 

St. PauH did not encourage Astironomy, Geology, 
Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics or anything taught in 
our schools. According to St. Paul our schools 
teach "foolishness." I think St. Paul's head was full of 
foolishness. We can get along a great deal better by 
studying what St. Paul called "foolishness" than we 
can by studying what St. Paul taught. Of course he 
taught some things that are good and always will be 
good, this we can accept because it is good and not be- 
cause he taught it. He taught nothing that was not 
taught before his time. 

Victor Hugo said in speaking of priests and preachers : 
"Every step which the intelligence of Europe has taken, 
has been in spite of you." 

"There is in every village a lighted torch, the school- 
master, and a mouth to blow it out, the parson — Jbid" 
Pretty strong talk Mr. Preacher. Think this over. 

Whatever St. Paul said, should be looked on with 
suspicion. He was not a straightforward, open-and- 
above-board, honest man. That is if we are to believe 
his own writings in the Bible. Listen to what he says 
of himself: "Being crafty I caught you with guile." — 
2 Corinthians 12-16. "Unto the Jews I became a Jew, 
that I might gain the Jews" — 1 Corinthians 9-20 also : 
"I am made all things to all men," verse 22. 

In other words, St. Paul virtually says : When I go 
among sheep I put on sheeps clothing. How far can 
you trust such a fellow? The greatest preacher of 
Christianity acknowledged that he played hyprocrite 
whenever he could gain by it. He also played robber : "I 
robbed other churches taking wages of them" — 2 Co- 
rinthians 11-8. 



168 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

Now get your local pastor to explain this away for 
you. Can he? Of course he can. He can "explain" 
anything to your satisfaction. Why shouldnt he? You 
pay him for it. 

Jesus of Nazareth probably the greatest man who 
ever lived on earth said: "Love one another." Dr. 
Talmadge said : "A red line runs through church history 
for nearly nineteen hundred years — a line of blood; not 
by hundreds, but by millions we count the slain." 

Do Christians follow the real man Jesus? Should 
Christians blame thinking people for pronouncing Chris- 
tianity a failure? 

Lord Byron said : "I had rather be a Gentile than 
one of the seventy-two villianous sects who are tearing 
each other to pieces for the love of the Lord and hatred 
of each other." 

St. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4 — 10, 13: "We are 
fools for Christ sake." 

Clesus, who lived when Christianity was taking shape, 
said the following wasi one of the main Christian rules: 
"Let no man that is learned, wise or prudent, come 
among us; but if they be unlearned, or a child or an 
idiot, let him freely come. So they openly declared that 
none but the ignorant, and those devoid of understanding, 
slaves, ignorant women and children are fit disciples for 
god they worship." Of course it would be mostly ig- 
norant women. No other kind of women would sit and 
listen to a preacher like St. Paul, that commanded them 
to shut up, give up and be abject slaves of brutal 
husbands, as no other kind of husbands would ask or 
expect such, of women. 

This author also said : "You may see weavers, tailors, 
fullers and the most illiterate of rustic fellows, who 
dare not speak a word before wise men, when they can 
get a company of children and silly women together set 
up to teach strange paradoxes among them." The same 
thing happens to-day. 

All new, revealed religions start among the ignorant, 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 169 

and flourish among the ignorant, or unthinking, for that 
matter. Many worthy unthinking people inherit such 
a religion, but few acquire it through serious thought. 
Many adopt it because of various considerations other 
than real belief, while there ia no denying the fact that 
far too many really and truly believe the silliest trash 
as absolute truth. 

The body of the mythical Christ must be taken from 
the ancient cross, a symbol of the most brutal crime of 
history, and buried. And the cross, as an idol must be 
dethroned forever, so that ignorant disciples, hysterical 
women, designing men, and hungry preachers can forget 
it, and become real manly and womanly citizens of a 
scientific, thinking, happy world, where sane acting is 
the rule instead of the exception. The slander against 
Jesus of Nazareth, one of the worlds greatest men must, 
and will be cleared. 

I do not know that Jesus of Nazareth ever lived, but 
I believe he did. I stand ready to change that belief at 
any time. All I care for is the truth, for the truths sake 
only. I do not wish to hug a false belief simply because 
I have believed it. I have put in about forty years, in- 
vestigating, studying and contemplating. Trying to 
arrive at the truth of this matter because I consider it 
important. I certainly can see no harm in believing that 
a man named Jesus of Nazareth, once lived and that 
he was one of the greatest and best men of earth. There 
is a lot of good evidence that says so. I know that 
many of his sayings, or what history teaches us, are his 
sayings, are the best of advice to follow. Although many 
of his sayings are the worst that could be said — "Depart 
ye unto everlasting punisment" — if we are to believe the 
Bible. But this does not lessen the force and effect or 
moral worth of his best teachings. And I am one who 
is going to believe the good teachings because they are 
good, and not because Jesus taught them. I am also 
going to reject the vicious teachings because my reason 



170 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

tells me they are vicious, no matter who taught them 
or is said to have taught them. 

I am even going a little further and refuse to believe 
that Jesus taught the vicious teachings. I prefer to 
believe that priestly writers lied about Jesus and im- 
mortalized their lies by incorporating such in the Bible, 
as they had all the chance in the world to do it without 
being exposed. 

I cannot believe that a sane man or a sane god, even 
could or would say in one breath : "Do as you wish to 
be done by," and in the next breath say. "Believe or be 
dammed." 

I cannot believe that Jesus said at one time : "Return 
good for evil," and at another time: "Those that deny 
me on earth I will deny before God." This would not 
be consistent. This would be spiteful. This would be 
the priests way of doing it, not the Jesus way of doing 
it, this would not be returning good for evil. 

I cannot believe that Jesus said that it is better to be 
injured than to injure any one and then said: "Depart 
ye unto everlasting punishment." These latter words 
sound like words of vile priests to me. Sending men and 
women to hell forever is not practicing the doctrine of 
"better to be injured than to injure." Something wrong 
with the Bible. 

I believe that most of the words of the Christian Bible* 
supposed to be words of Jesus ; are merely words of 
scheming priests. They certainly seem to be to any 
one who will study and use horse sense in judging it 

We must get rid of the cross as a religious idol. It 
had reference to and represented the sexual element, for 
pagans, for centuries before Christianity borrowed it 
to represent murder. 

"The worship of God, the Father has repeatedly 
clashed with that of God, the Mother and the votaries 
of each respectively have worn badges characteristic of 
the sex of their deity." 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 171 

The pillar, spire and the cross always represented 
the male god. 

"The symbol of Phallic worship, the cross, has be- 
come the emblem of Christianity. We find the cross in 
India Egypt, Thibet, Japan, always as the sign of life 
giving power; it was worn as an amulet by girls and 
women, and seems to have been especially worn by the 
women attached to the temples (sacred prostitutes,) as 
a symbol of what was, to them a religious calling. The 
cross is in fact nothing but the refined phallus, and in 
the Christian religion is a sufficient emblem of its Pagan 
origin ; it was adored, carved in temples and worn as a 
sacred emblem, by sun and nature worshippers, long be- 
fore there were any Christians to crave, adore and wear 
it. The crowd kneeling before the cross in Christian 
churches, is a simple reproduction of crowd who knelt 
before it in the temples of ancient days, and the girls 
who wear it in our day are innocent and unconscious of 
its original significance when Egyptian and Indian 
women wore it thousands of years before Jesus came on 
earth." ^ 

Christians fill their churches and homes with the em- 
blem of Bel and Astarte, Baalim and Astoreth and ele- 
vate the cross, the phallus to the position of the supreme 
deity. 

The Christian cross and church spire represents parts 
of the human body which nature as well as civilization 
teaches us to conceal. A relic of ancient Paganism 
copied ,by Christians. 

"Under the Kings of Judah and Israel, the symbol 
of Aschera (the phallus) became an object of general 
piety which was found in every house." 

"The history of Osiris, Bacchus, Appolo and the 
Christian cross god are almost identically the same. All 
are masculine gods. The mythical Jesus is a solar god, 
as all solar gods had Christmas as their birthday, twelve 
apostles or twelve signs of the Zodiac, expired towards 
sunset, sun-day, the day of worship. The cross and 



172 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

especially the crucifix, was an emblem of solar worship. 
It was carved or painted on, or within a circle repre- 
senting the horizon ; the head and feet outstretched arms 
of the sacrifical offering- or curcified Redeemer pointing 
towards the four quarters of the horizon. The Lords 
supper was observed in memory of Mithra, Bacchus and 
other solar gods. The nimbus or aureola surrounding 
the head of the mythical Jesus in his portraits, represents 
the rays of the sun. It was thus that the ancient adorers 
of the sun adorned the effigies of their god. There still 
exists a pillar erected by the sun worshippers of Carth- 
age. On this pillar is carved the sun god Baal, with the 
nimbus encircling his head." 

"The Christian doctrine of the resurrection had its 
origin in sun worship. As the sun, the Father, arose 
from the dead, so it was believed that his earthly children 
would also arise from the dead." 

"Many scholars, including Thomas Jefferson, have 
held that Christ and his twelve Apostles related to the 
Zodiac and were derived from this stellar worship.' 

The Jewish god Jehovah was a god of blood and 
fire. Every time he turned around he spilled blood and 
spit fire. The ancient Hebrews were a brutal ignorant 
people. Probably no more so than many another ancient 
people. But nevertheless they were crude and neces- 
sarily had a crude religion with some good in it. The an- 
cient Hebrews worshiped fire and blood and scattered it 
around freely. The mythical Jesus was said to have 
baptised with fire, especially those who displeased him, 
as he sent them to everlasting fire. The Hebrews kept 
fire burning on their alters for centuries and when they 
felt a little extra religious they added blood to the fire 
to please their god. A nice gentle god and religion to 
be ancestors of our god and religion. He taught the 
Hebrews to steal, murder, enslave men and women 
and practice immorality against virtuous young girls 
of other tribes or races of people. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 173 

In Egypt they worshipped the bull god Apis. In 
India they worshipped a cow god. The Jews worshipped 
a golden calf god, and we worship a cross god, a murder 
god. The Jews worshipped one god and believed in 
many. They gave allegiance to one without denying 
the existence of others. Christians have five gods : 
Father, Son, Holyghost, Satan and a female god Mary, 
who is similar to the Egyptian Isis and the European 
Venus. 

Zoroaster and his earliest followers believed in one 
god only. Later they believed in as many gods as Chris- 
tians do to-day. 

Thomas Jefferson said : "The god of the Jews was 
cruel, vindictive and unjust." 

A thousand years before Jesus was born the doctrine 
of the Trinity was preached in Egypt. Osiris-Isis-Horus 
Also in India, centuries before Jesus, Brahma, Vishnu, 
Siva constitutes the principal trinity. The Trinity was 
a Pagan doctrine that Christianity borrowed. So was 
heaven and hell, angels and spirits, virgin mother, im- 
maculate conception, saviour of men who performed 
miracles of healling the sick and raising the dead. All 
this and much more was preached centuries before the 
birth of Jesus. There is a story about hiding Horus in 
a marsh by his mother Isis, centuries before Moses was 
born. (Looks like the Moses bulrush story was copied 
from this more ancient story.) There is also an ancient 
Egyptian story about the sun and moon standing still 
at the death of Horus. (How about this Joshua?) The 
ancient Egyptian Isis and Horus are similar to our 
comparatively modern Mary and Jesus, Madonna and 
Child. Isis is veiled, so were the earlier representa- 
tives of Mary. 

"The stories of the resurrections of Adonis, in Phoen- 
icia, of Osiris in Egypt and of Dionysos in Greece were 
old when Jesus was born, and paved the way for the 
origin and acceptance of the story of the resurrection of 
Jesus." 



174 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

Five centuries before Jesus, Prometheus the Titan 
god was worshipped. The legend is that he, like Jesus, 
came on earth to intercede and suffer vicariously for the 
race. If the story of the mythical Jesus was not taken 
from the earlier story of Prometheus it certainly did not 
contain anything new even to the earthquake and dark- 
ness alleged. Ancient Greece was great on immaculate 
conceptions. 

Christianity could have borrowed this idea from 
several ancient religions as most of them advocated it. 
Plato taught the most of what Christianity teaches, 
especially the best part. If Christianity did not borrow 
from Plato, it at least did not not put forward anything 
new. 

Pythagoras of Greece and Italy lived near the time 
of Guatama and Confucius. 

There was a small Jewish sect, known as the Essenes, 
which adopted to a large extent the teachings of Pytha- 
goras. Jesus is believed to have belonged to this sect. 
This sect taught many things that are in the New 
Testament as follows : 

"It is law among them, that those who come to 
them must let what they have be common to the whole 
order." 

"They carry nothing at all with them when they 
travel into remote parts." 

"Every one of them gives what he hath to him 
that wanteth, it." 

"A priest says grace before meat." 

"They are ministers of peace." 

"Whatever they say also is firmer than an oath ; but 

Swearing is avoided by them." 

The above with many other similar sayings were 
written over a century before the New Testament was 
written, that is, if we are to take any stock in the writings 
of Josephus and other great writers. Remember this and 
read the following and note the similarity : 



TS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 175 

Acts 4-32, Matthew 10-9 and Matthew 5-42. Luke 22- 
19 Matthew 5-9 also 34 and 37. 

Cakes were eaten in honor of the goddess Ceres and 
wine used in honor of the god Bacchus before the time 
of Jesus. 

The bread of Ceres and the wine of Bacchus was 
copied by Christians and is today the Body and Blood 
of Jesus ; ancient Pagan ceremonies adopted by modern 
Christians. 

"The Athenians long before the time of Jesus cele- 
brated the allegorical giving of the flesh to eat of Ceres, 
the goddess of corn, and in like manner the giving his 
blood to drink by Bacchus, the god of wine." 

The ancient inhabitants of Greece had their "holy 
water" with which to purify themselves before entering 
a temple. Their women carried and bowed before the 
phallus even as our women of to-day bow before the 
cross which anciently represented the phallus, but which 
represents ancient murder in our time. 

Saturn was one of the oldest of the European gods 
worshipped in Italy, a thousand years before the time 
of Jesus. His greatest day was the winter solstice ex- 
tended to include December 25th. All business was 
suspended and a general celebration proclaimed extend- 
ing over several days. Presents were exchanged some- 
what as they are to-day and candles were burned also. 
Now understand, this was a thousand years before Jesus 
was born. Strange Jesus was born on this day, is it not? 
That the mythical Jesus only, was born on this day is 
the reasonable assumption. The real Jesus was probably 
not born Christmas time. 

Most people are familiar with the story of Romulus, 
founder of Rome whose name was changed to Quirinus. 
See "Chambers Encylopedia." It says the sun was 
eclipsed, a dark storm was on, and Romulus was carried 
up to heaven in a "Chariot of fire." He afterwards re- 
appeared in a "glorified" form. 

Sounds a lot like our Bible. This "chariot of fire" 



176 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

route to heaven, glorified reappearance, ascention talk, 
virgin mother, miraculous everything fairy tales are 
thousands of years older than Christianity. So do 
not blame Christianity for inventing them, it" merely 
copied them ; it copied all it has, the good as well as the 
bad, the supernatural darkness and reappearance. The 
Roman myths, suggest the supernatural darkness and 
transfiguration of the cross tragedy, and so on. All 
revealed religions are a jumble of myth, fancy and 
superstition. Heathen Christianity is no exception. 

The Easter festival in honor of the Saxon goddess 
Ostara, the goddess of Spring, was celebrated because 
of the resurrection of Spring and flowers, before Jesus 
came on earth. Strange he was resurrected at this 
particular time. 

Hillel, the Babylonian Jew who lived a century be- 
fore Jesus was born said: ''What is hate to thee, do not 
unto thy fellow-men." 

"Nearly every festival of Christianity is of Pagan 
origin. Every day of the week bears a pagan name, four 
of which are taken from Scandinavian gods. The Chris- 
tian word "hell," was derived from "Hel" the name of 
the Norse goddess of the lower world. 

The following ideas are all of Pagan origin and ap- 
peared on earth at least five hundred years before the 
birth of Jesus: Son of God, Messiah, Immaculate con- 
ception, Virgin mother. Angel visitors. Celestial music. 
Star of magi. Transfiguration, Crucified redeemer, 
Supernatural darkness. Resurrection, Ascension, Second 
advent, Trinity and Unity, Holy Ghost, Devil, Angels, 
Immortality of the soul. Heaven, Hell, Fatherhood of 
God, Brotherhood of man, Vicarious atonement, Mir- 
acles, The cross as a religious symbol. Holy water. Lords 
Day, Christmas, Easter, Fasting, Prayer, Golden Rule and 
dozens of other ideas adopted by Christianity and 
claimed as revealed to Christians direct from God. All 
these ideas and many more similiar ones, were old to 
the world five centuries before Jesus was born. The 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 177 

Assyrians, a thousand years before Christianity was 
born, had a legend of a garden of Eden, the making of 
man and women, the temptation and fall, the serpent, 
the flaming sword the Deluge and ark, the Tower of 
of Babel," and much more poetic speculation similar to 
the Jewish account in our Christian Bible. That the Jews 
borrowed this gossip from the Assyrians is very reason- 
able to suppose. 

"The ten antidiluvian patriarchs : Adam, Seth, Enos, 
Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech 
and Noah, whom Luke presents as the first ten progeni- 
tors of Christ, are now known to have been a dynasty 
of Babylonian kings." 

"Abram, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah who both Mathew 
and Luke declare to have been ancestors of Christ, and 
whom Mathew places at the head of his genealogy, were 
not persons at all, but merely tribes of people." — Rev. 
Dr. Ort, professor of Oriental languages at Amsterdam. 

The old Testament is a Christian version of ancient 
Jewish writings more or less ''doctored" to aid Chris- 
tianity. 

The **Word," as an emanation of essence of divine 
wisdom is very old. Egypt, India and Persia had it in 
their relig4ons. It was the basis of Platonism and 
Zoroastrianism. 

Much of the New Testament might have been copied 
from writings of Seneca, Philo, Plato as all of these men 
lived and wrote before the new Testament was written 
and their writings contain much that is in it. 

The mythical Christian Christ is a growth out of 
religious ideas and systems that existed previous to his 
birth. Many gods and saviours lived or existed in the 
minds of men centuries before the Christian God, and 
the Christian Christ came on mans mental earth. 

Krishna was the Hindoo Jesus of Nazareth. He was 
one of the Hindoo Trinity. He began to live in the 
minds of the Hindus about 100 years before Jesus. He 
was miraculously conceived, of royal descent, born in 



178 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

a prison, among strangers, angels sang at his birth, 
shepherds visited the babe and virgin mother, the 
reiging monarch sought to destroy him, he was saved 
by friends who fled with him in the night to distant 
countries, the king ordered all infants to be put to death 
so as to get the particular one out of the way. His 
mission was the salvation of mankind. He performed 
miracles, healed the sick he cleansed the leprous, raised 
the dead, died for man, was killed by men. 

Now this all sounds very much like the Christian 
Christ, written a century before Jesus was born. If it 
had happened a century after Jesus was on earth. Chris- 
tians would claim that the Hindus copied from them. 
This is history, this is indisputable fact, draw your own 
conclusions. Somebody copied. 

Gautama died 563 years before Jesus was born. He 
was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. 
He fasted forty nine days. He had disciples. He 
traveled from place to place and preacehd to multitudes. 
He preached a Sermon on the Mount. He forsook 
father, mother, wife and child. He came to establish 
righteousness. He promised salvation to all. He sent 
his disciples to preach in all places and to all men. He 
preached self conquest, charity, and return good for evil, 
over come anger with love, and love your enemies. He 
said do not kill, do not steal, do not lie, do not commit 
adultery, do not use strong drink. He descended from 
kings, had a virgin mother, his conception was announced 
by a divine messenger. 

He was visited by wise men who brought gifts, fasted 
in the wilderness was tempted, angels ministered to him, 
his mission was proclaimed by a voice from heaven, he 
performed miracles, he preached on the "Holy Hill ;" 
the story of the prodigal son is among his sayings ; he 
uses the mustard seed as a simile for smallness ; he 
speaks of building on sand, of the rain falling on the 
just and unjust; a "Mary Magdalene" woman followed 
him, her name was Ambapali; he had a traitor among 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 179 

his followers ; he proclaimed his Kingdom not of this 
world and many, many other things that he did and 
said, are similar to what Christianity claims to have 
invented, between five and six hundred years after Gau- 
tama lived. What would you think of a fellow claiming 
to have invented the steam engine centuries after its 
actual discovery had been advertised to the world? 

In reading your Bible consider the following: Mathew 
16-19 "And I will give unto thee the keys of the King- 
dom of heaven : and whosoever thou shalt bind on earth 
shall be bound in heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt 
loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." 

Did Jesus give such tremendous power to Peter the 
traitor? The man who denied him three times in one 
night and to whom Jesus said: "Get thee behind me 
Satan : thou art an offense unto me ; for thou savourest 
not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." 

Nice man to put in full power over the eternal welfare 
of billions of men, women and children of earth. A 
traitor, a coward and a rebuker of Jesus. A wave of his 
hand, and we all go to hell forever. Jesus never gave 
this man such power. Jesus never had such power to give. 
These are words of priests. Mark, Luke and John do 
not record this most important incident. Why not? 

Peter not only denied Jesus but he "cursed and 
swore" about it. A fine fellow to rule heaven and earth. 
Good men must have been scarce in those days. Peter 
was anxious to know what his salary was to be. Matthew 
19-27. Peter was evidently a selfish, traitorous, cowardly 
vulgar, undeserving man, if Bible accounts are true. 
Jesus had poor judgment or a poor lot of men to pick 
from. The latter must have been the case if Luke 22-24 
is correct: "And there was also a strife among them, 
which of them should be accounted the greatest." 

This was immediately after Jesus had told his dis- 
ciples that he would be betrayed and die on the cross. 
Instead of feeling sad on account of the coming death 
of their Master they began to quarrel among them- 



180 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

selves who was going to be boss when Jesus was dead. 
The first twelve Christians were certainly a fine lot. It 
is a wonder that they did not quarrel over the clothes 
that Jesus wore. They were a set of heartless men all 
right. 

Matthew 26-56. When the Jews came to arrest Jesus, 
"Then all the disciples forsook him and fled." Brave 
fellov/, these first twelve Christians ! One traitor, eleven 
cowards. Rather a poor starter for Christianity. Two 
of these cowards are given credit for writing three of 
the most important books of the New Testament. 

A coward is usually a liar also. Peter was both. 
He deserted Jesus and 'denied him thrice." And still 
millions of people believe Peter to have been given power 
over heaven and earth. Is this reasonable? Does God pick 
out cov/ards and liars and exalt them over their betters? 
If He does, why be brave and honest? 

Matthew and John were both cowards, they deserted 
Jesus at the critical time. Were they liars also? Should 
we believe all that such men say? 

Heathen Christianity began with a murder that it has 
been proud of for centuries. That original murder has 
caused millions of other murders. It is time to stop this 
religious foolishness. Forget the cross but remember 
Jesus and his best teachings. 

A person said to me recently : "You certainly have 
undertaken a big job, trying to refrom religion and 
business both. You will never do it. You can't change 
a religion and a business system that have lived two 
thousand years. While I am not competent to argue with 
you, I believe you to be wrong and I think you are 
presumptions to think you can. You should leave such 
matters to our really great men ; our presidents, our 
judges, our congressmen, our bankers and our ministers. 
They should know more about these things than you 
do." 

Thanks, friend. I see you belong to the "can't" 
family. You can't make an argument yourself and you 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 181 

can't meet my argument. You can't do something 
worth while and you can't get out of the way. You 
can't give out an idea and you can't grasp an idea. You 
can't help and you can't quit hindering. You can't say 
anything worth saying and you can't shut up. 

About all you can do is to "can't." While you are 
"can't-ing," I intend to work and do what little I can 
towards reforming religion, government, business or 
anything else that I think needs reforming. Nothing is 
too hard for me to try and help reform, unless it would 
be a chronic "cant-er." 

If reforming is left to presidents, judges, congress- 
men, bankers and ministers, it will never be done. They 
are not in the reforming business. If they tried it they 
would lose their jobs. All reforms come from the bot- 
tom, not from the top. The greatest reformer on earth 
was not a president, judge, congressman, banker or 
minister. He preached, yes, but not the mushy stuff we 
hear today. He taught the people what they must do 
to be saved. I am a follower of him trying to pass his 
thoughts along. You are not competend to judge 
whether I am correctly quoting ,him unless you know 
what his teachings really are. You do not grasp the 
full meaning of his teachings unless you study them 
yourself as you cannot make any headway listening to 
what the preacher says on Sunday, forgetting it on 
Monday, if you do not connect , these teachings with 
week-day business affairs. 

If you listen to the tale about the "money changers" 
and think of it as a religious incident of olden times, you 
fail to grasp the full meaning of it. This act of Jesus 
was not so much a religious incident as it was economic. 
It was a protest against , business robbery ; a protest 
against people getting something for nothing; a protest 
against people cheating. It is not a story to mumble in 
Sunday school and marvel over, but a lesson that we 
should apply to every day life. 

And again : you should not accept as truth and fact. 



182 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

anything whatever, just because Jesus said it, or because 
he is said to have said it. It should look reasonable to 
you or you should discard it, even as you accept or dis- 
card what I am telling you. If you do not follow your 
reason in all matters you voluntarily place yourself on 
a plane with the lower animals. 

You should not accept a statement as fact, that seems 
unreasonable to you, just because a president, a judge, a 
minester or Jesus said it to be true. Jesus could not 
have said all that he is said to have said and still have 
been sane. But he said so many things that are the 
essence of wisdom, we have a right to believe that he 
did not say the many foolish and vicious things 
attributed to him. It is also possible that he never said 
the wise sayings, but it should make but little difference 
to us who spoke the wise words. Personality should 
not add weight to wise words.. 

You people who worship Jesus as a god, lose the 
effect of his manly wisdom. The tinsel glitter of his 
supposed divinity, blinds you so you can se^ nothing 
else. It keeps you from seeing wrongs we are suffering 
from. Your attention is centered on yourself and the 
mythical Jesus. We need a church that does not teach 
this fable but which will teach wordly knowledge that 
is worth while. A church where all such questions can 
be talked over in a religious manner. Where all people, 
of various ideas, can exchange views and learn from one 
another, uninfluenced by politics, religion or selfish 
motives. A place where "people" meet, not where Dem- 
ocrats, Republicans, Protestants or Catholics meet. 
These great questions are for the "people" to settle, not 
for any particular party, clique or clan to settle and we 
need a Church of the People, in the broader sense of 
the word, to aid us. The Christian church is not equal 
to the occasion ; it is too narrow and selfish to take in 
all of humanity unless all of humanity believes just what 
it tells all of humanity to believe. 

The Christian church is the church of a man-made 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 183 

god, a mythical Goliath that has come swaggering down 
through the centuries to us with the cross, a symbol of 
murder, in one hand, and the sword, an emblem of war 
and destruction, in the other hand, while on his cruel 
lips are the horrible words "Believe or be damned," — 
"Depart ye into everlasting hell fire," — scattering terror 
and gloom among children, and fear and hyprocracy 
among ignorant and superstitious men and woman; 
making war on science, truth and justice ; leaving a 
bloody trail strewn with the bodies of burned witches, 
slandered scientists and outraged thinkers. Followed 
and supported by priests and money changers who fatten 
on the misfortune and slavery of those who dare not 
think, because of the presence of this hideous man-made 
monster who dwells between the covers of our supposed 
"word of god." While far in the rear we faintly see the 
pathetic figure of the "Man of Sorrows," trudging along 
bare-headed and barefooted, carrying the sins of billions 
of unthinking, selfish Christians, mumbling the words: 
"Peace be unto you" "Forgive them for they know not 
what they do," — wearing a crown of thorns with a 
ghastly wound in his side, out of w*hich pours blood 
enough to wash a dirty world whiter than snow. 
Slandered, persecuted and murdered by Jews and Ro- 
mans after having been double-crossed by the man-made 
god who professes piety but spits hell-fire at all who 
oppose him, and enslaves all who follow him. 

This man-made Christian Goliath must be met and 
slain. Education is the David that will use the stone of 
reason in the sling of fearless thought to strike the 
monster down. Then humanity can march forward once 
more. 

The two Testaments of the Christian Bible are reli- 
gious "Siamese Twins." They were so intimately con- 
nected and interwoven by their authors and compilers (an- 
cient priests) that they cannot be separated with out death 
to heathen Christianity. 

The Old Testament teaches all kinds of slavery, "white 



184 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

slavery" included. It teaches dishonesty, murder and war. 

The New Testament teaches and approves of murder, 
as divine, and asks all of humanity to sanction it and drink 
blood derived from the murder of an innocent man. 

The Bible may be the word of the Christian God, but it 
certainly is not the word of the Supreme Creator, Ruler 
and Sustainer of All. 

<"hristians profess to believe that the brutal killiner of 
Jesus on the cross, was "divine" murder. ,To me there 
is no such a thing as ''divine" murder. I claim that it 
is just as inspiring to watch a Turk murder an Armenian 
as it is to watch a Christian burn a witch at the stake, or 
to see the Jews kill a god on the cross, or to see an Apache 
kill a white man or a robber shoot down a law abiding citi- 
zen. All such acts appear to me to be cold blooded mur- 
der, and I refuse to take a benefit from any such incident, 
either here on earth below or in heaven above. 

Yes, I reaUze that I am peculiar, judged from a Chris- 
tian standpoint. My moral education was neglected in 
childhood. There were no priests or preachers around to 
train my mentality to turn religious somersaults. In time 
I may progress up to the point where I can distinguish 
between "divine" murder committed by Christians and their 
god, and heathen murder, committed by burglars, highway- 
men, Turks, Japs and their gods. At present my educa- 
tion will not allow me to distinguish the difference. 

I do not think that Christians have a right to call Turks 
and Japs, "heathens." Neither do I think it is right for 
the Turks to refer to the followers of the mythical Jesus 
as "Christian dogs." This is not nice and many times it is 
an injustice to the dog, especially when the Christian hap- 
pens to be a brutal man who has just killed a beautiful 
young girl (after getting her drunk) because he "liked" 
her. 

A Turk should have his rights, a Christian should have 
his rights and a dog should have his rights. All are God's 
children, even the dog. 

There are no heathens in the sight of the Almighty, 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 185 

and no one but a bigot will claim that there are. God 
made all and evidently loves all. A Christian is just as 
good as a Turk or Jap when they all behave themselves, 
no better, no worse, and a dog is better than either when 
he behaves himself and the Christian, Turk and Jap, lie, 
steal, murder and debauch. 

The church influence is necesary in a high state of 
civilization, but it should be educative as well as re- 
fining. 

At present there is no church broad enough for in- 
telligent, progressive, thinking people to join, that I 
know of. Many such people belong to .'our present 
churches simply because they cannot do without the 
church influence even though it contains much that such 
people cannot accept, while there are many intelligent 
and moral people who never attend our present churches 
who would gladly frequent a church that did not teach 
salvation through ancient murder on the cross com- 
mitted by brutal men and instigated by a traitorous 
man-made god who double-crossed his own son. 

We need a church that can and will collect the in- 
telligent and thoughtful people together where they can 
work collectively for human betterment. Leaving the 
ignorant and superstitious alone in their present or- 
ganizations until they progress out of them. 

If such churches were properly started they would 
draw heavily from all existing churches, as well as from 
the ranks of non-church members, as a majority of 
people are intelligent and progressive under proper lead- 
ership. Such people will not accept salvation through 
any scheme or plan that does not include good thoughts, 
good acts and a pesistent striving to climb higher in 
morality, knowledge and usefulness. They expect salva- 
tion through evolution ; as a tree or flower grows to per- 
fection; as a child grows from helplessness to strength 
and beauty. 

Such is the road to heaven and the only road by 
which it can be reached. All other roads lead to failure. 



186 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

We need a church of the people. A church that scatters 
knowledge, teaches duty and gives pleasure, while ad- 
vising temperance in all things, a church of common 
sense. 

No one has a moral right to say that he or she is a 
Christian or is not a Christian until they have thoroughly 
read and sudied the Bible and know of their own per- 
sonal knowledge, gathered from research, thought and 
deep study of the Bible, as well as investigating: what 
others say of the Bible and Christianity* so they may 
weigh and consider in an impartial manner, regardless 
of their bringing up, of what their father thought, their 
mother thought or what anyone else thought. Thinking 
a thing does not necessarily make it a truth and we 
should be careful about accepting anything as truth that 
cannot be verified some other way than by ignorant pre- 
judice. No one has a right to say that he is a Democrat 
or a Christian unless he can give a reasonable reason to 
himself for the assertion. He need not necessarily give 
anyone else a reason unless he cares to. 

The point is, we should be honest with ourselves and 
not fool ourselves or let people who are continually fool- 
ing themselves, fool us too. 

As a general rule I find that the persons I talk with 
on religious matters who say the most emphatically 
that they believe in the Bible every word of it, are the 
people that know the lease of the Bible, of the words of 
the Bible. They have read it the least and thought on 
it the least. All they know of it they have learned by 
hearing others talk about it. And this is a poor wav to 
learn about anything that is of such easy access as the 
Bible. The Bible should be studied by all as they would 
study a school book and before they do this no one but 
an insane person has a right to say he believes in the 
Bible. But most Christians do it. 

I am certain that I have a stronger healthier belief 
in God and Jesus, than any pale faced man who ever 

traHpH "rplip-inns belief" for crnlH 



»*» ^-.VJ'VX wv^..v* j^.^*-. — , . .-i.** ^^.j j^v**^ 

traded "religious belief" for gold. 



POEMS 



BE RELIGIOUS, TRULY SO 

Look for God in everything; 
Countless worlds His praises sing — 
Not in church and books alone, 
Authors of which are unknown. 

Let no man-made god or creed, 
Sway your judgment like a reed; 
Let no priest or prophet bold, 
Trade religion for your gold. 

He who peddles sacred things, 
For the little coin it brings. 
Should be shunned by all mankind, 
As a robber of the blind. 

We're not here for God to curse. 
Make your church the Universe. 
"He Who notes the sparrows fall," 
Surely will regard us all. 

Let the simple have their creeds. 
Say their prayers and count their beads, 
Hug a charm or worship Sun ; 
Time will broaden everyone. 

Superstitions are for those 
In their infant mental clothes; 
Have compassion for their view, 
Something grander beckons you. 

Be religious, truly so. 
Worship where the lilies grow, 
'Mid the fields and forest trees; 
Words of God, are all of these. 



188 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 



WHEN JESUS DIED ON CALVARY 

When Jesus cried on Calvary 

"My God, my God, Oh, why hast Thou forsaken me?" 

He sent a shudder down through time, 

Together with a thought sublime, 

And men will pause to hear it told. 

To hang their heads in shame, in deep disgrace, 

Because of crime, stupendous crime. 

On Calvary, in olden time, 

Committed by the human race. 

The wail of one who suffered so. 

At hands of brutal men, who dealt a< vicious blow. 

A death by hands of demons blind ; 

A living death for one so kind. 

While all above seemed black as night, 

There on the cross 'twixt life and death he hung; i 

And all below, for him was worse, — | 

High heaven seemed this man to curse, | 

While from the cross his body swung. 1 

Taunted by jeers of men who hate — 

Of low-born men, his God did seem to approbate. 

So helpless, and forlorn, in pain, 

A target for the rude, insane. i 

And all for what? Because he loved. 

He never paused to count the cost, ^ 

He gave us all that he could give ; 

No grander man on earth could live. 

To him it seemed that all was lost. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE: 189 

And then the cry, pathetic plea: 

"My God, my God, Oh why hast Thou forsaken me?" 

That awful cry, that did immortalize a crime 

That killed a man just in his prime. 

While brother men his blood did spill, 

He seemed to little care, for earthly rod. 

He ask not why the punishment 

From earth below, to him was sent. 

But why the lack of thought, by God. 

Then came the cry of wounded love, 

From troubled soul below, unto his God above. 

One prayer, one question then had he. 

Just one heartbreaking thought and plea; 

All other torment seemed as naught. 

No earthly hurt caused him to pray; 

This was the thorn that did chastise. 

He thinks of God alone, and dies 

And goes to God, e'en though He slay. 

He ne'er complained of mortal pain, 

Because of wounds, of loss of friends, or men profane. 

And while he suffered all, unmoved, 

He saw not why his God approved 

His awful fate and suffering. 

Just as his spirit poised to take its flight, 

He thought his God did him forsake. 

Then from the heart about to break, 

A cry from out the darkest night. 

A troubled world in agony. 

Repeats the cry on Calvary: 

"My God, My God, Oh why hast Thou forsaken me?" 

A pause, and from infinity, 

To vibrate through eternity, 

The echo comes, and in its train 

We hear the answering refrain : 

"Forsaken me! Forsaken me! 

My People hath forsaken Me." 



190 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

THE HOUSE OF GOD 

The house of God is open air 

And every day the time for prayer; 

One constant and intense desire 

To do our best and climb up higher. 

Those piles of timber, brick and stone 
Were built by man for man alone ; 
God needs no houses such as these 
Man builds, himself alone to please. 

Jesus preached, where e'er he chanced to be, 
On mountain top or near the sea. 
To beggar, prince, or those who'd care 
To hear him in the open air. 

In synagogues he'd talk as well 
Most any place he'd stop to tell 
The story of his trip to earth, 
To preach to man of second birth. 

He warned 'gainst mansions here below, 
He scorned the use of wealth for show, 
And were he here, he would condemn 
Our present churches, most of them. 

I'm sure that he would advocate 
A church of man right down to date ; 
Where things worth while are daily told 
Instead of fairy tales of old. 



THE WORD OF GOD 

The word of God is all creation, 
The Universe true revelation ; 
And day by day, as time goes by 
Proclaims the will of Him on high. 
No human book or speech could tell 
The power of God one half so well. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 191 

The word of God is everywhere, 

In every flower and stone, 

On land, in sea and in the air; 

God speaks in works alone. 

To all but bigot with his^ creed, 

A universal language grand. 

So all mankind can see and read, 

And reading, understand. 

Oh, superstitious ignorance. 

The world's colossal curse, 

You haunt our thoughts, contract our souls 

And dwarf our concept of the Universe. 



STAND ERECT 

Stand erect, for all is well; 

God is not God if there's a hell. 

Then stand erect, look straight ahead with thoughts 

above, 
For God is not God. if He is not Love. 
Cower not before the throne 
Of man-made god or priestly drone. 
Stand erect, salute on high 
The Unknown God beyond the sky. 
Go straight to God, Himself, in thought. 
What mortals tell of God, you count as naught. 
Let no priest's or preacher's shadow dim 
Your rays of love that come from Him. 
For He who guides the flight of birds, 
Will guide our steps, and not by words. 
He speaks to us more positive ; 
Through conscience He will daily give, 
Instructions that are understood 
By all a striving to be good. 



i 



192 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

GOD'S HOLY DAY 

If God had meant some special day 
For us to keep on earth, 

He'd call a halt in everything, 
In death as well as birth. 

He'd never let a child be born, 
Or let a human die, 

On sacred day He set apart 
. For u9 to pray and sigh. 

He'd never let the buds on trees 

Develop into bloom, 
He'd never let the grasses grow 

On day of priestly gloom ; 
He'd never let the birdies sing 

Upon his holy day. 
He'd never let them build a nest. 

He'd make them kneel and pray. 

He'd never let the sun shine bright 

And gentle breezes blow, 
He'd make the day as dark as night 

So nothing then could grow. 
He'd fix it so we'd understand 

And so we'd have to rest, 
He'd make it known throughout the land 

The day that he had blest. 

He would have told his "only son," 

To keep the Sabbath day. 
In language so that not a one 

Could ever go astray. 
For Jesus seemed not to have known 

Of God's most holy day. 
Because he never did postpone 

His work, and stop to pray. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 193 

If neighbors ox was in the mire 

He'd help him then and there, 
While never stopping to inquire, 

What day; he did not care. 
The Pharisees would Jesus slap 

For Sabbath work he did. 
But Jesus never cared a rap 

How much they closed the lid. 

God's Holy Day, is every day; 

The Sabbath is a pious fraud, 
Thought out by priestly man, 

Himself, not God, to laud. 
For profit, power, wordly gain, 

A child of superstition and its mates. 
Jesus never taught such nonsense, 

But was murdered by it's advocates. 



PRESUMPTIOUS MORTALS 

Think ye not that God created 

This Universe and all therein, 

For the express purpose that you, a weakling, 

Might err and then confess your sin; 

Be redeemed by the slaughter of God's only Son, 

Who ne'er committed wrong, 

And through his pain 

Be made as pure as drifted snow. 

And then pass on to God again. 

How presumptions mortal man can be 

When contemplating immortality. 

jIj jjf 5)S 5k ^ * 

If God is God, then his commands must be obeyed. 
The most important seems us all to bind 
And elevate, though far away we've strayed. 
Real piety is only shown in service for mankind. 



194 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

RELIGION 

All religions teach some truth, 

And every one deceives, 

For they are nothing more than this : 

What mortal man believes. 

And men are wrong more times than they 

Are ever right, by far, 

When telling us about some god; 

The past has proved they are. 

No mortal man can comprehend 
God's Body or His Mind ; 
And when a mortal says he can, 
You'll find him mental blind; 
A silly weakling boasting some, 
A man who reason kills, 
Who makes a living by his wits. 
While you just pay his bills. 

Revealed religion comes from dreams. 

Vague dreams' of little worth ; 

A poor foundation for belief 

Of anything on earth. 

A true religion will be based 

On day light, wakeful thought. 

Instead of on some misty dream, 

A drowsy brain has caught. 



THE CHRISTIAN PADLOCK. 

In any Christian Nation, where you may chance to roam 
You'll find the Christian padlock to guard the Chris- 
tian home. 
And not from foreign heathens, not much, at any rate 
But from the Christian product of that same Chris- 
tian State. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 195 

"THE FALL OF MAN" 

Some forty centuries ago, 

A poet thought he'd like to know 
Just why the human race should be 

In want, in sin, in misery. 

For all about him seemed to say, 

Man sometime must have gone astray. 
All else, save man, it seems to me. 

Is universal harmony. 

While man in discord, seems to grow, 

God surely did not make him so. 
Man has fallen, no other way 

To cause what we all see to-day. 

For God Himself would never will 

This earth to be, then straightway fill 
It full of want and misery. 

To last throughout eternity. 

The pious poet thought it out. 

To him it seemed without a doubt, 
That nothing but the "fall of man" 

Could interfere with God's great plan. 

He placed his thoughts on parchment scroll 

To which we now pay mental toll. 
Those ancient thoughts are naught but this: 

A part of Bible Genesis. 

While later poets tried to save 

Humanity from endless grave, 
Caused by the ancient poet's plan: 

The visionary "fall of man." 

Naught, but a saviour seemed to be, 

The wiay to save humanity. 
Poetic nothingness, the scheme, 
Just resting on a poets dream ; 



196 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

For dozing mortals to partake, 
Not for the living, wide awake. 

For lazy minds that dare not think. 
For cowards too, who dodge and blink. 

The rise of man, a thought sublime, 
Inspiring hope throughout all time. 

The "fall of man," there's nothing worse, 
Depressing thought, a man-made curse 

That 'round our necks the dead have hung. 

The tune, poetic ancients sung, 
And we unthinking chant the song, 

And thereby aid a common wrong. 

How foolish we, to thus presume 

And through the ages, scatter gloom. 

The rise of man, a thought sublime ; 
The ''fall of man," religious crime. 



THE MAN WITH A PRAYER 

and 
THE MAN WITH AN OATH 

The real God is one God, not three, six or seven. 

He lives here on earth as much as in heaven ; 
He's God of the Heathen, the Christian, the Jew, 

He's God of all men that God ever knew. 

He did not establish a church with a creed, 

He knows what we want and he knows what we need. 

Our prayers never move Him towards us, one mite, 
They lift but ourselves towards God and the right. 

While some may not know it. He's God in His place 
And what men "believe," does not alter the case. 

He brings us on earth and he passes us on, 
Everything moves, whether we're here or gone. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 197 

The Heathen and Christian are treated the same ; 

Born alike, die alike, play the same game; 
The sunshine and rain are showered on both, 

The man with a prayer and the man with an oath. 

And he is a bigot, unworthy God's love, 

Who thinks himself chosen as God's little dove. 

The man with, a prayer and the man with an oath 
Are truly God's children ; it's a matter of growth. 



THE CROSS 
A Symbol of a Crime. 

Just think of Jesus as a man 
And that is quite enough. 
A man of men — red-blooded men, — 
That brutes once handled rough. 
A man who tried to aid mankind 
And show them greater worth. 
A man, just man, most noble man; 
The grandest man of earth. 

And not as god, a man-made god, 

Who asked his Father why; 

Who prayed to God with his last breath, 

Who hopelessly did cry, 

And asked God why He should forsake 

His faithful son so weak. 

For those were words of man alone — 

No God such words would speak. 

TTwas man, not God upon the cross 

That hung forlorn and sad. 

For God, of God, would never ask 

Why God, forsaken had. 

For us to think that it was God, 

Belittles God on high. 

To let his creatures murder Him 

And cause Him thus to cry. 



198 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

While Jesus too, we slander much, 

And kill his power for good 

Among the thinking ones of earth. 

Believe, they never could, 

That through the blood of Gods we mount. 

To homes up in the sky, 

That God must kill another God, 

Or else we all must die. 



The thought that asks or would accept 

Another one to die, 

To pay in full your sinful debts 

While you in comfort lie, 

Is selfish thought of lowest grade, 

Is cowardly as well. 

Will hold you down from heavens gates 

Will draw you nearer hell. 



For if you would not gladly give 

Your life or part of it. 

You should not selfishly expect 

To take a benefit 

As roman soldiers did of old. 

From death they asked for pay. 

By casting lots for raiment worn. 

You ask for more than they. 



You ask, and claim, eternal bliss. 
Through death of murdered man. 
The Romans got just all they could. 
You're getting all you can. , 

Now he who would accept or ask, 
So much through awful crime, 
Could not be worthy of the gift. 
Of bliss throughout all time. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 199 

They tell you that it is Gk)d's plan, 

That murder should be done, 

So you may go to God in blood 

Of pure and holy one. 

They lie to you, they slander God, 

And you believe because 

They caught you young, they warped your mind. 

With lies about God's laws. 



And you believe, yes, you believe 

'Cause Mother told you so. 

And who told Mother pray, I ask? 

Her Mother, yes I know. 

Who told Mothers' Mothers' Mother 

Way down the distant past? 

Some priest, of ancient brutal time. 

We've traced it down at last. 



For error started will attach 

And gather as it goes 

The dust of ages, mental dust, 

And thus the error grows. 

While you accept it without thought, 

From unlearned ancient time. 

From one who lived on mental mould. 

When thinking was a crime. 



And you accept because with ease. 

You see a lazy way 

To enter heaven, leaving debts 

For some one else to pay. 

Just load your sins, a billion sins. 

On back of man so true 

Your brutal man-made god did kill. 

To furnish blood for you. 



i 



200 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

Oh, heathen Christians, stop and think, 

Just read your "book of books," 

Just read its pages through and through. 

And then see how it looks 

To you in light of modern thought, 

Dealt out by reasons hand, 

Instead of sucking mental milk 

Of ancient scapegoat brand. 



Salvation coming though good works. 

By knowledge gained and such. 

By good deeds done for other men ; 

Take some — but give them much 

Of lifes best things while here on earth, 

And this will save your soul; 

For evolution is God's plan 

By which you reach your goal. 



Quit trying hard to something get 
For which you do not give 
An equal portion in return. 
Which is no way to live. 
By praying some and harder work. 
This, you to God will link, 
And not through blood of murdered one- 
Most awful thought to think. 



Your selfishness will weigh you down, 

You never can progress 

Until you offer up yourself 

To others in distress ; 

Upon the cross of blood and tears 

There nailed with iron pins. 

Yourself to suffer and to die 

For other peoples' sins. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 201 

God did not write "The Word of God'' 

'Twas work of priestly man, 

Who wrote the book and then he said: 

"This, is God's holy plan." 

First holy man, then "fall of man" 

Then holy birth of man, 

To save us all from certain death, 

Then holy murder plan. 



That ancient mother was misled, 

The lie came down through time, 

And fed upon gross ignorance, 

On silly mental slime, 

They fooled the ancient mother then, 

Who dared not reason much. 

She feared the stake that always burned, 

For reason, thought and such. 



A man-made Christian god we have, 

That priests have made alone. 

And when we try to free ourselves, 

The priests will loudly moan. 

The priests their daily bread receive 

From superstitious wrong, 

Of course they'll fight if we should try 

To stop their ancient song. 



They say that we the devil serve, 
While they are pure as snow. 
And holy as an angel is ; 
That all should see and know. 
But just the same, you mark my word, 
They'll make you pay them well, 
While coaxing you with heaven's prize, 
And scaring you with hell. 



202 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

An ancient way of robbing men, 

A graft as old as time ; 

They give you nothing for your gold 

But story of a crime. 

They dare not let you think and read, 

They know you'll learn too much. 

They cause your mind to lean upon 

Their little mental crutch. 



And you a slave, a mental slave, 

Are loyal as a dog; 

While round about you they will chant 

A fearful mental fog. 

And make you think that you are lost. 

If you from them do stray. 

They'll ex-communicate you then; 

You'll start for hell that day. 



We know just why the priests made hell 

To send you there to stay, 

If their religion you refuse 

And them refuse to pay. 

To them it is a business scheme — 

They've got to live or die ; 

And they had rather trade ''belief" 

Than work and sweat and sigh. 



If you should quit your trading gold 
For their religious thought. 
The priests would have to go to work 
And pay for what they bought. 
Their coaxing you and scaring you. 
Just makes them mental boss; 
It makes you weak financially 
They fatten on your loss. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 203 

But then, you too, would have to work, 

And really think quite deep ; 

With your religious canned goods gone, 

You'd miss your mental sleep. 

Much work and thought, on your own part 

This lazy system saves. 

The living is by dead men ruled. 

While lying in their graves. 



Some priests are saintly and refined, 
Are sacrificing too ; 
Intimidated by the church, 
"They know not what they do." 
While many more are hyprocites, 
Not serving man at all; 
They teach no truth, but error spread 
That causes men to fall. 



They hold the cross above their heads, 

A symbol of a crime, 

And falsely teach us to approve 

Of murder, as sublime. 

They juggle with a mystery; 

The victim's sacred name 

The priests absurdly hide behind; 

On God, they place the blame. 



Oh, woe unto ye hypocrite, 
Ye modern publican. 
Ye pharisee and scribes that sit 
And cause the "fall of man," 
Instead of causing him to rise 
By honest thought and work; 
You bribe him with a tinsel prize, 
You teach him how to shirk. 



204 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

You teach him that by eating flesh 

And drinking human blood, 

That he'll be made as pure and fresh 

As snow compared with mud. 

Such "sacred" trash must we all shun, 

And look on God on high 

As far too good and wise a One 

To utter such a lie. 



A FRIEND HAS GONE 

A friend has gone, has passed away, 
Has left his earthly home of clay. 
He took a road we all must take 
And in a better world awake. 
While we in error say : he died ; 
He drifted on the ebbing tide. 
Far out upon the sea of life 
Beyond the reach of earthly strife. 

Where peace and rest from worldly jars 
Will soothe his soul beyond the stars. 
We should not cast a shadow grim — 
By thoughts of sorrow here for him — 
Across the path that he must tread. 
The path of those whom we call dead 
For thoughts are things, both light and dark 
That fly like arrows to a mark. 

Send thoughts of gladness then to him, 

Instead of sadness that will dim 

And cloud his mental atmosphere. 

We all should send him kindly cheer. 

We too will soon be passing on. 

Just stop to rest and then we're gone. 

While unattended we must go 

Just when, or where, we never know. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 205 

And, as on earth, we came alone 
From out the vast, to us, unknown. 
The road from life to life is dim. 
We shut our eyes and trust in Him, 
While silently, alone we tread 
The road that's traveled by the dead. 
Just why 'tis so, we do not know, 
We only know we come and go. 

While death spreads lonesomeness behind, 
We all should bravely bear in mind. 
While setting sun to us seems night 
And death seems like day's fading light 
To him beyond, the absent one, 
Death, is the rising of the sun ; 
The road we travel to our goal ; 
The resurrection of the soul. 



TRANSIENT 

Every thing is transient, 

Especially the wrong; 
For every thing in time to come, 

Will then have moved along. 

Our present ills and pleasures, 

In time will pass away 
And be among the dead and gone 

Of ancient yesterday. 

But while our pleasant neighbors 

In time will all be gone. 
The bad can't stay so very long 

For time just moves them on. 

These facts should make us patient; 

Should make us more content, 
To try and do the best we can 

With what to us is sent. 



206 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

Now while we are a-moving 
And soon we will be gone, 

We should be moving upward, 
As wel! as moving on. 



DEATH IS BIRTH 

All life is spirit shining through 
And animating clay; 
The body never really lives, 
Must therefore pass away. 
Our mortal eyes cannot behold 
The new-born one from earth ; 
The part of death we see and know, 
Is but the afterbirth. 

The pallid cheek, the glassy eye, 
The struggle and the groan ; 
The awful lonesome feeling then, 
When we have lost, our own. 
The overcoat the spirit wore. 
Lies crumpled at our feet; 
The spirit lives, it never dies 
In future all will meet, 

We should not superstitious be ; 

Should let our reason reign 

And sterilize the coat with fire. 

For everybody's gain. 

'Tis better for us left behind, 

And those of higher birth. 

As well as helping Nature some 

To purify the earth. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 207 

While death to us seems misery, 

Our vision is not keen ; 

*Tis but the shadow* that we see 

The substance is unseen. 

For death is birth to higher life ; 

The spirit passes on 

To broader spheres of usefulness; 

The real has come and gone. 

Yes, death is hard for us who stay, 

But good for those who go. 

And we should calm our grief and say: 

"Thy will be done," You know. 

For death is but an incident 

Of life, which is supreme; 

And death is not a conqueror, 

But ending of earth's dream. 

Presumptious then, for wisest man 
To criticise, though weakling would; 
The fact that death is for us all. 
Is proof enough, that death is good. 
The Sun in time, will pass away. 
The stars will glow and then decay. 
While doom, on earth will place its seal; 
For none, but spirit, is the real. 



HEATHENS. 



Not all of the heathens are out of the church 
Nor all of the saints within, 

Some use the church as a cloak to hide 
Many a mammoth sin. 



208 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

WHITHER, WHENCE AND WHY? 

Where did we come from and where do we go, 
What are we here for, does any one know? 
We come with a cry and leave with a groan, 
From nothing to nowhere, at least the unknown. 
We frolic some, sob some, and then we are gone. 
We bring nothing, take nothing when we pass on ; 
Excepting experience gathered while here, 
A thing of great value for which we pay dear. 

Oh, why so much error, injustice and strife, 
We all must endure in such a short life? 
There must be a reason just why this is so, 
But I must confess that I really don't know. 
One moment happy, the next moment sad. 
One moment good and the next moment bad. 
One moment haughty, the next moment plead, 
Now we have plenty and then we're in need. 

So many religions and all of them right. 

To make us believe so, their advocates fight. 

While each are the chosen of gods they have made ; 

All others are heathens they're privileged to raid. 

Some leave a record of blood in their trail. 

While some murder truth and science assail, 

Some are the weed of conceit gone to seed, 

Some crush out others while some themselves bleed. 

Your reason, they tell you, just lay it aside ; 

The book which we give you must be the real guide. 

If we ask for some proof to show they are right. 

They're up and a coming already to fight. 

Each true to the teachings received when a child ; 

Whether Christian or Jew or Hottentot wild 

And scorning all other beliefs as quite vile, 

For they know it all, that is all that's worth while. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 209 

They tell us to bow down in front of their god 
Or they'll wish us in jail, or under the sod, 
They coax us with heaven and threaten with hell, 
Till just what to do then one hardly can tell. 
HoAv little we know and how little we need. 
How great our presumption, colossal our greed ; 
There's good in the bad and there's bad in the best 
And those that are left are about like the rest. 



INSPIRATION 

"The Spirit of God" is moving to-day 

O'er the waters of thought, in a wonderful way. 

Now ''Let there be light," is His modern command, 

And true inspiration appears in our land 

With heavenly earth life, a-coming to stay. 

If all are as willing to work as to pray. 

Our days will be grander than ancient grand days. 

If we will interpret and follow God's ways. 

We've fallen in error, where teachers have led, 
Who gave us a stone when we asked them for bread; 
We sought for the truth but they gave us a lie, 
And now they must suffer, their error must die. 
So the light of God's truth may shine here again 
And thaw out the hearts of uncivilized men; 
The Almighty's Hand will be thrust from on high 
To tear down the cobwebs that clutter our sky. 

The cobwebs of custom, the cobwebs of thought, 
The dust catching cobwebs religion has taught; 
The mental obstructions that lie in our road. 
The sins of the dead that add much to our load, 
He'll wash from our earth by a grand mental flood 
And not by the shedding of innocent blood; 
By armies of angels to show us the way, 
For God, of high heaven, is with us to-day. 



210 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

THE AVERAGE MAN 

When common, man is prospering, 
He*s then a most important thing; 

But when he's down and out, he's then 
The most abused of luckless men. 

When he's on top he'll strut and say: 
My intellect made me this way; 

But when he's underneath he'll groan: 
"If I could get just one small loan." 

When he has power to do some good 
He does not think of things he should, 

But mostly of himself he thinks. 
At higher things he simply blinks. 

Conceited, proud, and cruel too, 
A-doing what all selfish do. 

Until misfortune knocks him out 

And makes him then begin to doubt. 

Self confidence begins to go 
As hard becomes his row to hoe; 

Conceit and cruelty depart 
And leave him with a better heart. 

But generally too late to see 
Things as they really ought to be ; 

Alas, too late for him to do 

The things he once had power to. 

His hellplessness and poverty 
Are fine to make him really see. 

But should he chance to rise again 
He'd likely not remember then. 

The more we have, the more we know 
The better then we all should grow, 

The less conceited we should be 
The greater our prosperity. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 211 



WHAT'S THE USE? 

Sometimes I think it is no use 
To strive for things up high 

That we should tryi to be content 
With things that near us lie. 

Like Solomon of old, sometimes 

It really looks to me, 
That everything is foolishness. 

That "all is vanity". 

For often do we make a mess 
While trying hard to rise ; 

And many times I am in doubt, 
Which course was really wise. 

When e'er il start to study hard 
Just to improve my mind, 

And over-do a little mite, 

Why then I'm nearly blind. 

What little knowledge I have gained 

Is overshadowed tall 
By injured health and uselessness, 

Which makes me feel so small. 

But this may be the thing indeed 
That's best for me to know; 

Use temperance in everything; 
Make haste by going slow. 

For he who claims all, vanity 
Condemns himself in turn. 

And anyone who knows it all, 
Has little chance to learn. 



212 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE r 

YOU'LL NEVER SAY GOOD-BYE TO YOURSELF 

You'll never say good-bye to yourself, 

Where ever you go you'll be, 

And carry a record of all your acts 

Plain for yourself to see. 

You'll never be saying good-bye to your God, 

For you are a part of Him, 

A mortal image of God Himself 

An image so weak and dim. 

But you may become an image grand. 

An image as bright as day, 

Instead of an image as black as night 

That lusts to maim and slay. 

You'll never be fooling yourself or God. 

Though others may blinded be, 

You'll carry a record upon your soul 

So plain for your God to see. 

You're building a record while on your way 

No saviour can change, or will ; 

A record that blood will not erase, 

No matter how much you spill. 

A record that nothing but your own love, 

Will ever correct, in time, 

For no one can save you but yourself — 

By turning away from crime. 

You'll never progress and be like God, 

As long as you're fearing truth. 

As long as you cling to musty lies 

That warped your trusting youth. 

You'll never be saying good-bye to yourself, 

Wherever you go you'll be. 

And carry a record of what you are. 

So God and you may see. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 213 



STARE DECISIS 

Stare Decisis, looking backward; 

'Tis a good thing now and then, 
But 'tis dangerous and foolish 

In the hands of shallow men. 

Always turning to the ancient, 
Old and musty makes him meek; 

Has to look up other judgments 
'Fore he even dares to speak. 

Turns his back upon the future. 
Overlooks the present need, 

Stare Desisis ; retrograder, 
Anti-progress is your creed. 

Had the men you claim to follow 
Done the same as you today. 

Little progress we'd be making 
In an onward, upward way. 

Progress glances backward only, 
Just enough to scan the past. 

To avoid mistakes and blunders, 
Taking car& they do not last. 

Now this thing of doing something 
Just because 'twas done before, 

Does not seem a proper reason 
Why we all should do it o'er. 

What the judges of the past said 
Should be sifted, weighed and heard. 

As an aid to present judgment. 
Never as the final word. 



214 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 



THE DESERT WILD 

Through deserts wild I love to stray, 
And pitch my tent at close of day 
Beside the trail that led me there, 
And spend the night just anywhere ; 
Where all is barren, vast and grand, 
The ancient, dreaded desert land. 

I love to watch the curling smoke 
Ascend and spread like branching oak. 
From campfire built so hastily; 
There muse of past and is-to-be, 
As dying embers fade away. 
And slowly turn to ashes gray. 

The desert wild of man's affairs 

Is city street so- full of tares, 

Where human buds so pure and sweet 

Are crushed beneath the vilest feet. 

Where lust, the serpent in disguise, 

Haunts brilliant caves where virtue dies. 

Where roams the wolf of usury. 
While seeking prey eternally; 
The greatest curse of modern time. 
Producing want as well as crime. 
His food is blood, and tears his drink, 
His weapons, common pen and ink. 

Where one will lose his way and lie 

On desert sand to groan and die, 

A thousand souls worse fate will meet 

In waves of sin of city street; 

In ebb and flow of human crime. 

Upon the shore of earthly Time. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE r 215 

BABY BLOSSOM 

Little cherub here on earth, 
Through a process we call birth, 
Fresh from Hand that is Divine, 
Proud am I you're partly mine. 

Baby Blossom, flower of love, 
Wafted here from up above ; 
Ray of light from Spirit Sun ; 
Greater blessing there is none. 

From the reservoir of life, 
To this never ending strife — 
Came from out the vast unknown, 
Not forever, just a loan. 

As the moments come and go, 
Like the lillies you will grow, 
Blossom, bloom, then wither, go ; 
Where, oh where, we do not know. 

Gold and silver, diamonds too, 
Are but trash compared with you. 
And we all wish you to know, 
You are welcome, doubly so. 

While you journey on your way, 
Count as holy every day. 
Carry out the Golden Rule 
While you tarry here in school. 

All are here to learn and grow, 
Why we are we do not know. 
We should do the best we can 
To uplift our fellow-man. 

When we give a helping hand, 
We begin to understand 
And we rise above the sod, 
In our searching after God. 



216 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

THE LOST MINE. 

Sitting by the cheery camp fire, 
Ye old miner tells the tale 
Of the Mono lost cement mine 
'Tis a story never stale. 
How they found it, how they lost it 
In the early days of gold. 
This enchanted treasure story 
By the miners often told. 

And to hunt this nature treasure, 

Men are lured from year to year. 

To the high Sierra mountains 

For the native gold so dear. 

Some will say that it is fable. 

Others say that it is true 

And will tell you how the trav'lers 

Found the mine while passing through. 

How the three who made the journey. 

Sole survivors of their train 

That was killed by savage Redmen 

For revenge as well as gain. 

How they rested in the mountains, 

Found the rock they took along. 

On their weary western journey; 

Ancient pioneers so strong. 

How misfortune overtook them, 
Seemed to hover ever nigh ; 
One with broken leg they left there. 
In the forest wild to die. 
Later on another sickened. 
Stopped to rest and still is there; 
And the third in desperation. 
Stumbled on, he knew not where. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 217 

How in time his journey ended 
On a Californ'a ranch, 
How his story started men out, 
Searching mountain, gorge and branch, 
How he had the rock to prove it 
But his steps would not retrace. 
How he made a map for others. 
Told them where to find the place. 

How, in later years two partners 
Thought they found this mine again. 
Quarreled, fought, and one was murdered, 
Then the other went insane. 
Lost again this ancient treasure ; 
But each year men still pursue ; 
Winter snows will end the searching. 
Summer thaws, the search renew. 

Up among the "lodge pole" pine trees, 
Where the skeleton was found. 
Near the trees in cluster growing 
Is supposed to be the ground 
Of the Mono lost cement mine; 
Mine of mines, yet mystery 
For so many people searching; 
Ancient mine of tragedy. 

In the waterfall, the spirit 
Of the dead man who was found 
At the foot of Mammoth mountain, 
Dwells by day the year around. 
But when evening shadows gather 
O'er the trees with ancient mark on, 
You can hear a wail and moaning 
And the stoutest heart will hearken. 



218 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 



A MISTAKE 

Since first their little boy could talk, 
And understand, 
They taught him love of gun. 
Before he hardly learned to walk 
They thought it grand. 
To see him shoot in fun. 

They taught him guns were made to kill. 
Unknowingly, 
They stifled the superb, 
And in his mind they did instill 
The cruelty 
That now they try to curb. 

He took his gun to bed at night 
And dreamed of wrong; 
Of shooting birds so small, 
That stopped to rest while on their flight; 
He stilled their song; 
He killed them one and all. 

He saw a deer before him start 
And stop in fright. 
With joy he drew his gun 
And sent a bullet through its heart — 
Oh, happy night; 
Great laurels he had won. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 219 

CHRISTMAS TIME 

A common thing this time o' year 
To see so many full of cheer. 
It seems a shame to mar our feast 
By killing any harmless beast. 

If I had power to will it so 

I'd let all harmless creatures go ; 

As pleasure I abhor to build 

On flesh, the blood of which I've spilled. 

Then just extend the noble plan, 
Of "peace on earth, god will to man ;" 
We should include the beast below; 
For this will help our spirits grow. 

Just treat as sacred all of life, 
And help to stay the butchers knife ; 
With no one eating slaughtered food 
We'll rise above surroundings crude. 

Our race will come to it in time, 
As we progress away from crime. 
Posterity will stand aghast. 
And name our age the "bloody past." 

It may be proper now and then. 
To kill dumb brutes, as well as men ; 
But 'tis uncivilized and crude 
To use their bodies then for food. 

.If men have souls surviving death, 
Then animals — you may depend — 
Have just the same, of lower kind, 
A life, a soul that doth ascend. 



220 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE r 

For life is soul and nothing more, 
Just soul a-moving lifeless clay. 
And when the soul leaves, all is gone ; 
The body's part is death, decay. 

Then men should pause and think awhile 
Before they use a gun or knife 
To slaughter just because they can. 
Their fellow travelers of life. 

It seems a shame that men can't go 
And spend a little time in play, 
Without their guns and fishing rods. 
Without their instruments to slay. 

Oh, brutal, selfish men of earth, 
Why kill and torture to the quick; 
Now if your God were much like you. 
He'd kill you just to see you kick.' 

What sympathy can you expect 
When out with gun or fishing rod. 
When meeting with an accident. 
For help, how could you look to God? 

The God who made these creatures too. 
Some other purpose they must fill 
Than just to die; their souls depart 
E'en though it gives you, joyous thrill. 

Your false religion teaches you. 
That you are privileged blood to spill; 
'Twas made by other brutal men 
Who loved to torment and to kill. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 221 

THE BIGOT 

Pray, what were animals made for, 

If not for me to eat? 
And why were pretty flowers made? 

To crush beneath my feet. 

Why all this vast creation, 

If not for me alone? 
Am I not all important, 

Unto the great Unknown? 

I know I am, unto myself, 

A wonder to behold ; 
Importance is my essence — 

You're dull to need be told. 



THE COWARD 

You take the life you cannot give. 
From brutes that do no ill, 

When all the odds are on your side. 
You wade right in and kill. 

I'm sure the Lord is proud of you ; 

The Lord who made us all. 
Who knows our every thought and act 

Who notes our rise or fall. 

Just stop and think a moment, man. 
And tell us why you, are? 

What purpose in your being here 
On earth to kill and mar? 



222 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

WHERE THE GOLDEN POPPIES GROW. 

Way out in Californ'a 
Where the Golden poppies grow 
Where the winter sun is shining 
And the hills are all aglow 
To the land of orange blossoms 
There is where I long to go. 

When the eastern snow is falling 

California is calling 

Then my heart begins its yearning 

And my thoughts are ever turning 

To the land I love the best 

To the sunshine of the west. 



LAND OF WINTER SUNSHINE 

At the foot of Signal Mountain 
Mighty things are being done, 
Man 'gainst adverse Nature fighting, 
Victories are being won. 
In a land of winter sunshine, 
On the plains of little' rain. 
Men are carving out an empire 
Turning barrenness to gain. 

Like sphinx old Signal Mountain 
Towers high above it all. 
Watching ever o'er the valley 
As its fortunes rise and fall. 
And if mountains could but tell us 
Of the dim an' distant past 
What an interesting story 
This would be from first to last. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 223 

Of the magic transformation 

In this California Nile, 

What a contrast from the present 

Was that prehistoric while. 

Strewn with shells and human relics 

Of a long forgotten age, 

Mute reminders of the ancient; 

Of its hist'ry but a page. 



Once an arm of old Pacific, 
Severed by a bar of sand, 
Then the waters slowly vanished 
Leaving there a barren land. 
Many mounds beside the trail there 
Tell a tale of death by thrist; 
Lost their way mid sand and cactus, 
In this former land accurst. 



Sloping gently to the northward 

Stretching far as one can see, 

Lies this land so vast and fertile 

Former land of mystery. 

Modern homes are springing up there, 

Future garden all will be 

As the farms increase in number 

On this bed of ancient sea. 



Where by gravity the waters 
Of the Colorado flow. 
Never failing, but increasing 
As the crops begin to grow ; 
In the summer it is highest 
When 'tis needed most by all, 
iGradually it then decreases 
As the summer turns to fall. 



224 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE* 

And in case of drouth in future, 
Where dependence rests in rain, 
In less favored western sections, 
'Twill be Egypt with the grain. 
That 'twill feed the hungry millions 
If there comes such time forlorn. 
Is as certain as the future 
From the present's being born. 

AFTER THE WAR 
(In France) 

After the war is over, boys. 

We'll all go home to stay ; 

To meet our friends and relatives 

And proudly hear them say: 

"You did the best that boys could do. 

You bravest of the brave, 

You saved our homes for all of us, 

You whipped the German knave." 

But some of us die to-day, boys, 

Some of us die to-day, 

And someone will mourn for us, boys, 

Someone so far away. 

Come, let us be up at 'em, boys. 

And hurry this war along; 

The sooner we end this awful strife. 

The sooner we'll right a wrong. 

(Home Again) 

The wrong was righted there in France, 

And bravely too for us. 

But we have never paid the boys ; 

The boys the Germans cuss. 

Came limping home to homeless homes. 

When task was bravely done; 

They saved this land, not for themselves 

But for each wealthy one. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILUREv 225 

And we all weep o'er unknown dead ; 

Honor and tears are cheap. 

We never see the living boys 

Who hobble, limp and creep. 

How grand to be an unknown dead, 

Forever dead, unnamed, 

How sad to be alive instead, 

Does no onei feel ashamed? 

Not just ashamed to make us blush 

But shame that makes us give. 

Real thoughtful shame, that brings results. 

That aids the boys to live; 

To get some honor, comfort too, 

Before they reach their grave ; 

The justice that we owe our boys, 

That we should give our brave. 

We gave too much to profiteers. 

We're giving more to-day; 

That's why we cannot pay the boys 

The Germans tried to slay. 

We've paid our debt to honored dead. 

It cost a tear or two. 

With low bowed head on holiday. 

An easy thing to do. 

Now let us pay our living boys. 

Just pay them now, to-day; 

By giving homes for saving homes. 

The only way to pay ; 

By giving things to eat and wear 

And smooth their coming years. 

The living we can never pay 

By holidays and tears. 



226 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

"THOU SHALT NOT KILL." 

Our Christian governments of men 
Are causing them to die, 
And woe be unto citizens 
Who pause to ask them why. 
We fill the world with crippled men, 
And fill the ground with dead, 
While filling homes with aching hearts 
For those whose blood is shed. 

It should be our's, our total will, 

Yes, ours to reason why; 

As well as ours to pay the bill. 

As well as ours to die. 

No war should ever be declared 

Not voted on by all; 

By men and women that will be 

Affected by the call. 



LIVE AND GROW 

Sorrow broadens out the soul, 

While pleasure makes us vain. 

For troubles aid us to our goal. 

We only learn through pain. 

We burn a finger, then we know 

More than we did before. 

For pain will help us all to grow. 

To keep on knowing more. 

In time we'll know enough to aid — 

And not to hinder so — 

Each other while through life we wade ; 

So all may live and grow. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 227 

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU THINK 

Brutes, are made to growl and bite, 

To rend, and kill their kind. 

But men, should ctiltivate and have, 

A higher, broader mind ; 

A mind to soar above our earth, 

Not dwell on, ''me" and ''mine," 

But think of love and things of worth, 

To think of things divine. 

All human beings then should be 
Forbearing, gentle, kind ; 
Be always ready with their help. 
Their neighbors wound to bind. 
For never do we know how soon, 
We'll need some tender care; 
Be laying low from accident. 
Or sicknes, so beware ! 

And when you have an unkind thought. 

Just fight it down and take, 

A stronger hold on life's best things. 

For your own welfare's sake. ' 

For if we do not radiate. 

What we ourselves would choose. 

We have no right to then expect. 

The things we thereby lose. 

For evil thinking we will pay. 

Eternity a toll ; 

For every evil thought will leave, 

A scar upon the soul. 

The only devils we will know. 

In life that is to be. 

Will be bad thoughts of long ago. 

They'll haunt our harmony. 



228 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

We'll not be judged by deeds alone, 
When judged by One who knows ; 
For thought is essence, action form ; 
From thought, the action grows. 
If we, the image, then would be, 
Of Him, who placed us here ; 
The Star of Love must guide our fate ; 
Must banish hate and fear. 



The only things in life, worth while, 

Are little acts of love ; 

They cause us pleasure when we think ; 

They lift our souls above. 

If we are careful what we think, 

Our words will need no care. 

And all our actions they will be 

Quite proper, every where. 



The men who shot our Presidents, 

Were not as much to blame. 

As those who generated thought, 

That prompted such a shame. 

So then be careful what you think, 

For what you think, you are. 

And every vicious thought you think. 

May travel on so far. 



Like slimy snakes, they'll move through space 

While on, and on, they go — 

They might have been pure doves of peace, 

11 you had willed it so. 

Our thoughts will mingle with their kind, 

For better or for worse, 

As on they roll, from mind to mind, 

A blessing or a curse. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 229 



The things of wonder we all see, 

The things which man has wrought ; 

Are nothing more then echo's of, 

Accumulated thought. 

Just stored up thought the auto is: 

To you it may seem queer, 

A hundred thousand men or more 

Just thought the auto here. 

For you and me, to have and use. 

By men before our time. 

For you and me, just you and me, 

While we, are thinking crime. 

For crime it is, to think of self, 

While babies cry for food, 

While mothers cry themselves to sleep 

Because they'r treated rude. 



The largest thoughts that one can think, 

Are those of moral gold. 

Like those of usefulness to man, 

Like those of one of old. 

For if there'd been no kindly thought, 

Before we came on earth, 

No happiness to us would come ; 

A curse, would be our birth. 



If we enjoy the kindly thought 

The stored up thought we see 

Then we should be a-thinking thought 

To help posterity. 

As well as thoughts of those to-day 

Less fortunate than we; 

Of crippled ones, and invalids, 

Of those in poverty. 



230 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 



So let us all, just try and do 

What little, each one can. 

To think good thoughts and kindly too ; 

To help our fellow man. 

And have no wars, as we have had, 

And raise up no more men, 

With tender care, from everywhere, 

To fill a slaughter pen. 

Blind hero worship causes war. 
We've honored brutes too long; 
Napoleon, Caesar and their kind, 
We've elevated wrong. 
We've taught our children that the man, 
In war who did not yield, 
Was great, in ratio to the dead, 
He left upon the field. 



We honor selfish business thought, 

By men who do not care, 

Who try like gready swine to take, 

Their neighbors rightful share. 

We're teaching error right along, 

We cultivate the weed. 

We're teaching how to bow down low, 

To dollars and to greed. 



We, caused the war, all men of earth, 

Our thoughts produced the crime. 

And made it possible to have 

The greatest v^ar of time. 

Wrong thinking seed, we men have sown, 

For ages in the past; 

The harvest time is in our day 

We're reaping now at last. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 231 

The fall of man is caused by thought — 

The stones that help us sink — 

By selfish thought, those awful thoughts, 

That man should blush to think. 

The past should cause us all to pause, 

And know the reason why 

We sent our men to foreign lands, 

To sacrifice and die. 



Before world peace can e'er be won, 

The people must be taught 

That far more vicious than a gun 

Is any brutal thought. 

A fool within a magazine, 

With lighted match may loll, 

A fool with but a single thought. 

May cause a nation's! fall. 



The thought that comes but from the head 

Is crippled at the start; 

The grandest thought thai; one can think 

Is prompted by the heart. 

A thought that causes godly work 

No time or distance bars, 

It's words are shrill, like trumpet blast. 

Are heard beyond the stars. 



Our sprit is a manuscript, 
And every thought we think. 
We daily write as plain as we 
Could write with pen and ink. 
Our words and acts recording here 
Upon our parchment scroll, 
The good, the bad, so God may see 
A record of our soul. 



232 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

And when we pass to life beyond 

We take but this alone, 

All other things, we leave behind; 

For sins we must atone, 

And take our place in life to come 

According to our grade, 

According to our thoughts and acts, 

The record we have made. 



YOU CAME TO ME. 

Out of the nowhere, it seemed to m«e, 

You wandered home, just like it was to be. 

Like a stray moonbeam on a gloomy night 

You came, a ray of soothing light; 

To comfort me, believe and comprehend; 

To help me all you could and be a friend. 

To brighten up my earthly road. 

To lighten some my heavy load. 

I needed you, your childish love and sympathy. 

And you — I think that you girl must have needed me. 



OH, SHUX. 



I love a girl, I don't know why; 

When she's away, I sigh and sigh. 
When she comes near, I feel so queer; 

I want to say: "I love you dear." 
I want her for my own so bad; 

'Cause I can't get her, I am sad. 
I want to hold her tight and say: 

"I've got you now, you'll have to stay.' 
Just fine, I think I'm getting on, 

I look around, the girl is gone. 
Another fellow caught her eye 

And she has left me high and dry. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 233 

TWO HEARTS SO EASY WON. 

A little loving now and then 

Is just the thing for healthy men 

As well as women too, indeed, 

It seems to be the thing they need, 

As much as food and clothes to wear 

When it is given on the square. 

Yet awful things the lovers do. 

When you and I are not the two. 

While in the shadow of the door 

He gently gave her one 

She thot: "That's fine, I'd like some more." 

He thot: "I've just begun." — 

Two souls who'd rather not get caught; 

Two hearts so easy won. 

How heavenly it seems to them, — 

To other people fun. 

To meet and part, and meet again; 
To take her in your arms and then — 
Oh, well I can't explain it all; 
You'll know in time, don't let her fall. 
The greatest pleasure that we know; 
All normal people think it so ; 
When happening to be the two 
Engaged in that which we all do. 



TO LOVE IS TO SUFFER. 

To love is to suffer, to live is to die; 

In a world of pleasure there's many a sigh. 
When the lips of true love, and passion once meet, 

Then must the bitter soon follow the sweet. 
While making more perfect, real love from the heart, 

Yet passion, of true love is only a part. 
When love meets love, the result is sublime ; 

But loveless passion is nothing but crime. 



234 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

WHEN SHE'S NOT TRUE. 

When she goes wrong, when she's not true 

To him, as well as others too ; 

She'll work him for some presents, 

She'll lead him on and on ; 

Until he's out of patience ; 

Until his money's gone. 

She'll try to make him think that she 

Just loves him more and more. 

And that he is her only beau. — 

The little flirt, — she's got 'em by the score. 



AWFUL 



When people get mushy and start in to woo — 
Engage in the loving that all of us do, — 
Then others will snicker, or gossip or scold, 
Condemning such actions as silly or bold. 

How base and degrading to others it seems. 

When free from the charmer: young love and its 

dreams, 
How easy it is to be virtuous then, 
For unhealthy women an' defective men. 

While they may be virtuous* so is a post; 
For love never tempts any dead and gone ghost. 
Love means to many, what sun means to mould; 
It withers and blights, like too hot or too cold. 

Be full-blooded mortals, act sane and sincere; 
Love while you'r living, or. staying down here. 
If you cannot enjoy, let others alone; 
Each for his own sins, in time will atone. 

My, but its nice to be one of the two! 
How fine it all seems if it's just me and you — 
For then we would never, no never get through — 
How awful it is, when it's some other two. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 235 

CAMPING OUT. 

Now here we lie, all in a heap 

And try our best to go to sleep. 
The skeeters bite us on the nose, 

The centipedes, they chew our toes, 
The wood-ticks burrough in our hide, 

The fleas roam 'round from side to side. 

The gnats, they live behind our ears, 
Bathe in our eyes and bring the tears; 

While bugs just frolic o'er the dome 

Through hair that would not know a comb. 

We pull the kivvers o'er our heads 
And dream of home and better beds. 

While just before the peep o'day. 

Mosquitoes, gnats and bugs go Vay, 

The flies then come to take their place. 
Our patience gone, we fall from grace, 

Forget religion while we swear 
We'll never camp again, not there. 

We get up cross and then begin 

The morning meal to store within 
Though smoked, and burned, and full of sand 

Is all the grub — but my, it's grand 
To be alive and eat that meal, 

It makes life really, truly real. 

TWO DOGS THAT I KNOW 

Snowball and Lucky are dogs that I know, 

They'r neighbors of ours, next week they will go. 

Just moving away to a town further on ; 

I'm sure we'll be missing them;, when they are gone. 

Snowball is smallish and curly and white, 
Physically speaking, he's what you call light. 
Lucky is tallish and bony and rough 
He looks like a dog that could run a big bluff. 



236 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

They often come over to see us awhile ; 

To see them performing would cause you to smile. 

Snowball is trying to scratch on the sill 

While Lucky stands looking and barks with a will. 

They'll wait and they'll listen, and look at the door, 
Then after a moment they'll try it all o'er. 
Their heads bending sideways, their ears in the air. 
Their eyes are a-asking: "Oh friends are you these?" 

"We'r coming, to see you, we'r lonesome and sad ; 
Our masters have left us so long, we feel bad. 
We'r hungry, neglected and craving your smile, 
We'r wanting to come and be near you awhile." 

And then, when we open the door you should see, 
The wagging of tails and the jumping with glee. 
Tickled to death at the welcome they get, 
The happiest doggies that one ever met. 

THOSE KIDS. 

I think of those kids, I bless them and pray 
For kids who'll be men and be women some day; 
With troubles a-plenty, us old folks are knowing, 
But kids will be kids and learn only by showing. 

You'r telling and telling, but rarely soaks in. 
They climb up to virtue by passing through sin ; 
They'r gaining their knowledge by making mistakes, 
They'r reaching perfection through many bad breaks. 

How do I know it? Well, I'm telling you now. 
That I was a kid once, and followed a plow; 
I hilled the potatoes and hoed out the weeds, 
I spaded the garden and planted the seeds. 

I carried in wood 'till my back used to ache, 

I got in the jam and got in the cake; 

Did many a thing that I would not do now, 

I saved my hide sometimes but sometimes, oh, wow ! 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 237 

ITS REAL ESTATE FOR JIM. 

My wife and I have wondered much 
What we will do with Jim, 
And we have 'bout concluded that 
It's ''real estate" for him. 

He does not like to hoe the corn 
Or weed the garden patch, 
But when he hears the dinner gong. 
He's pulling at the latch. 

He never wants to do his part, 
He's always on the shirk. 
In fact its anything for Jim 
But real hard, honest work. 

And now that Jim has flatly failed 
At everything so far, 
We'll start him up in "real estate," 
With classy motor car. 

The only capital he needs, 

Is tidy clothes to wear. 

Dislike of work with pompousness, 

And plenty of hot air. 

Where he can make his ten per cent. 
For nothing in return. 
But just a-roping in the chap. 
With plenty wealth to burn. 

For when a person can't succeed 
With out committing sin. 
He'll settle down to "real estate" 
And rake the dollars in. 

So many men in "real estate," 
Will secretly ensnare 
Their nearest friend or relative 
And load him down with care. 



238 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

So they may gain their juicy fee 
And travel "easy road," 
While victims of their cunning talk, 
Are crushed beneath the load. 

They seem so nice and neighborly 
Until the deal is made. 
And then they'll make you dance for them 
Or forfeit all youVe paid. 

They'r always short on making good 
Their promises profuse 
But you must do all you agreed 
Or everything you'll lose. 



A GRINDSTONE OF THE GODS 

This earth to me, appears to be, a Grindstone of the 

Gods 
While turning 'round our wits are ground so we may 

battle odds. 
Some mortals are of metal made, that sharpen well 

in time 
While others seem of poorer grade- who melt or turn 

to crime. 



LIKES AND DISLIKES 

Your likes and dislikes are a part of yourself 
As much or more so than your fingers and toes. 
And while you can't help being just what you are, 
A bow-legged man with a wart on your nose — , 
Your reason should guide you and act as a bar 
To keep you from doing some things you elect. 
Just think the thing over before you go far ; 
A "like," like a wart, may be a defect. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 239 

SCARECROW SAL 

Scarecrow Sal was a patient old dame 
But the way she was treated was just a shame; 
She watched in the garden for ever so long", 
While doing much good she thought of no wrong. 

After a long and wearisome day 
Of scaring the birdies and rabbits away; 
Protecting the garden as well as she could, 
While on her way home by a brick pile she stood. 

Three heroes were living just south of the brick, 
A-waiting for someone their size she could lick. 
I know all their names, and could mention them too, 
In fact I may do so before I get through. 

Well, anyway, Sal was alone in the dark, 

So tired and nervous — now what was that — hark! 

A box falling down — a devilish queer noise — 

The hair stood up straight on the heads of three 

boys. 

* 

Out of the tent flew Owen and gun, 

Ralph at his heels and Bill on the run. 

Bang! went the gun while pointed at Sal — 

A-facing three heroes, what show had the gal? 

\ 

Owen, he swore like a pirate would do it; 

Ralph lunged at Sally, but Bill beat him to it. 

Bill grabbed her throat and the splinters just flew 

Ralph tried to hit her and then they all knew. 

i 
The light seemed to dawn on 'em there in the dark 
They had a thriller and we had a lark 
Poor Sally was injured, three heroes felt cheap 
My, what a racket, no one could sleep. 



240 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

DORA McCarthy 

Sad news I'm resavin,' that touches the quick, 
They're telling me Dora McCarthy is sick, 
They're telling she lies there in bed all the while, 
With a tormintin' pain and nivver a smile. 

Imagine me horror, pathetic surprise — 
But wait jist a minit, there's rain in me eyes; 
Wid the slave of me coat, I'll jist wipe it away, 
But the lump in me throat there, sames wantin' 
to stay. 

I'm sorry of wan thing, I'll hev to confiss, 
Now thet ye'r sick and unable to driss: 
I was dramin' of ye, one nite long ago, 
I tho't ye looked sassy an' sed to me, so: 

"O'Brien ye scamp, I'm mad at ye now, 

If it's trouble ye're wantin', I'm riddy to row," 

An' phwat did I say? As sure as I live, 

It's a kiss ye are wantin', and thin_ ye'll fergive. 

While ye were some firm, it's stubborn I was. 
Me rason was bad, yer rason ''because ;" 
But why not be friends, as like we was once, 
I'm not blamin' ye, girl, it's meself was a dunce. 

Now Dora McCarthy, cheer up wid a smile, 
Ye'v somethin' to live for, at least for a while. 
I'm riddy an' willin,' when ye are the same, 
To meet an' make up as ye asked in me drame. 



STAY MIT IT. 

Annodder Dutchman, vunce, und I 
Lives on a mountain oop so high. 
Ve talks erbout a road ve make 
So him ve build mitout mistake. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 241 

Der nodder Dutchman says to me: 
"Dot land vas hard, now don't you see, 
Und ven ve tries dot plow to sink 
She mit der ground oudt comes I tink! 

"It should be best you ride der beam, 
Und I vil try and stear der team, 
So you vas better ride him strong 
Vile I yust comes behind along." 

Then I dot plow, on top did stand. 
To make him dig oop deep dot land. 
Der nodder Dutchman says to me: 
"Stay mit it, dot is fine you see." 

How nice to hear dot Dutchman say: 
"Stay mit it, this vas only play." 
Dot plow along so smooth did went 
Until ve meets dot axident. 

But soon ve hits der poulder rock 
Und then — a double-header shock. 
Dot plow she breaks himself in two 
Und down der mountain ve yust flew. 

Those stumps ve bump against our nose ; 
Der brush she tear off all our clothes ; 
Der team tied loose himself und vent, 
But ve stayed near dot axident. 

Und vile ve stand dere, sitting down, — 
Ve vere too veak to niove aroun,' — 
Ve look each nodder in der face 
Und feel so foolish in dot place. 

Ve neider of us feel so gay 

Instead of saying: mit it stay, 

Der nodder Dutchman change his song: 

"Mein Gott! You mit it stayed too long." 



242 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

MONO da MONK 

Me find-a da mine, me call Mono da Monk; 

Me dig-a da gole, in da great-a beeg chunk. 
Me buy-a da grand-a beeg au-to-mo-beel ; 

Me climb-a da grade an me coast down da heel. 
She make-a dees life so nice an so real, 

That grand-a that fine-a beeg au-to-mo-beel. 

Me tell-a my frens all come take-a da ride; 

We bust-a da tire an she spoil-a my pride, 
We crack-a da spark — what you all call-a da plug. 

Da enga he stutter, he chug-a stop chug 
Diablo seems in heem no pull-a da load. 

She stop-a go dead-a out in-a da road. 

Me get-a da horse an she pull heem to town, 
He make-a me feel just like-a beeg clown. 

Me swear-a da bad, da word he not nice, 
Me sell-a da car — most any da price. 

Me buy-a da sheep what sail-a da air, 

An show-a da worl' how queek I get there. 

Da enga he stop no want-a go well. 

Da sheep he no stop he go like-a me tell. 

We hit-a da groun' like-a car-load-a brick. 
They pull-a me out an she make-a me sick; 

She break-a my home an she bust-a my head, 
She make-a me live long-a time in da bed. 

My eye he mooch black he no let-a me see, 
Me drink-a da toast and me eat-a da tea. 

Me think-a what fool all these mortal she bean, 
She go-a so craze on all kind-a macheen. 

Me get-a some well an me stand in a chair 
Me think-a da sheep an me try not to swear. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 243 

Me sell-a da ding-bust-a thing-a one day, 
Me tell-a da man she no need-a to pay, 

To take-a da thing, me no want-a da ride, 
Me no get-a laze, me no got-a da pride 

She not be so long, when me leave-a dees bunk 
Me walk-a da mine-a call Mono da Monk. 



THE CROAKER 

(Dedicated to a man I know) 

Wherever he may chance to be 
He croaks to make inharmony 

He croaks in business, croaks at home. 
He needs a boot-jack on his dome. 
He croaks to hinder and to kill. 
He always did and always will. 

His croak starts things to going wrong, 
As fools will listen to his song; 

They get en rapport with his pain 
And start to singing his refrain. 

Until success — and something doin' — 
Is turned to rout and utter ruin. 

O, How this croaker loves to croak; 
He's more a nuisance than a joke. 
He's croaking early, croaking late. 

Just croaks his spite and croaks his hate ; 
He just cant croak enough it seems, 
He croaks awake and in his dreams. 

He croaks and knows it doesn't pay; 
He croaks because he feels that way. 
He croaks the same thing o'er and o'er, 
He'll croak till Time shall be no more ; 
He'll never stop his horrid croak 
Until his blamed old croaker's broke. 



ADVICE TO GIRLS. 

Whenever any man, young or old, married or single, 
seems to take more than ordinary interest in you ; an 
interest great enough to ask you to accompany him 
alone for a walk or ride, to church, theatre or any- 
where, do not become flattered but become suspicious; 
for, in a majority of cases, it will be more for his in- 
terest, benefit and pleasure, than for your own. In 
many cases it will be to injure you and cause you untold 
agony and disgrace that you will not be able to cover 
up or survive. 

Never accept such an invitation from a person you 
would not at the time, **think" yourself possibly willing 
to marry. Nine times out of ten he will be thinking 
of the marriage relation with you, while you are think- 
ing of something entirely different, when he asks you 
to accompany him. 

Do not become under obligations to, or become fa- 
miliar or overly friendly with a man who is not free to 
marry and one whom you would not possibly be will- 
ing to marry. 

Beware of any boy or man who seeks to meet you 
alone and unknown to your folks, as great harm may 
come to you when you least expect it. 

Scorn any flirtation with strangers, as no man or 
boy of refinement will try to flirt with a strange girl. 
None but those of depraved and brutal nature will 
do it. 

It makes no difference who the man or boy is ; a mil- 
lionaires son, a pauper's son or neighbor's son. Such a 
man or boy may ''like" you, but don't feel proud, rather 
feel humiliated and ashamed, as this kind of *'like" is 
not pure love, because such men or boys are simply 
not capable of loving in a pure manner. 

The kind of affection such men or boys would have 
for you is the same character as the wolf or fox would 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 245 

have for chickens. Wolves and foxes "Uke" chickens, 
yes, but when the wolves and foxes get through with 
the chickens there is nothing left but a few bones and 
blood stained feathers. When such men and boys get 
through with you there will be nothing left but dis- 
grace. You will abhor yourself, and, under the circum- 
stances how could you reasonably expect anyone else 
to look at you in any other light? 

Do not look on the folks who warn you, as "old 
fools," saying: "nobody is going to eat me, J guess I 
can look out for myself." No, girls do not do this. This 
would be a mistake. There is a right road to travel 
through earthly life and a wrong road. I am trying to 
point out the right road. One leads to happiness and 
the other to disgrace and misery. 

You will come in contact with more men and boys 
on earth who will try to fead you on the wrong road, 
than those who will point out to you the right road. 
Some men and boys will show you the wrong road sim- 
ply because it is to their interest to do so. It is human 
nature to do so, the brutal part of human nature ; the 
kind of human nature that is on a par with vicious low- 
er animals; — animals that "enjoy life" by ensnaring 
and crushing between their merciless jaws, the lives 
of other animals, lapping the blood of their vistims with 
satisfaction; — human nature that will then start 'an- 
other flirtation with another silly, strange girl. This 
kind of human nature, this kind of men, must neces- 
sarily work among strangers ; those who do not know 
their real character. 

Everytime a stranger, or anyone else for that mat- 
ter, starts a flirtation with you, just think of Bluebeard 
Gillam. Think of the many girls and women he "mar- 
ried" and then murdered ; remembering that not all of 
the Bluebeards get caught and that not all of them are 
dead. This may help to hold you somewhat steady. 

Always remember that the greater the tempter, the 
greater the charm, fascination and apparent agreeable- 



246 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

ness about him. Think of the pretty bright light that 
attracts the moth to its destruction. The moth says : 
''Oh, how lovely; it is the very thing I have longed and 
prayed for; it is so pleasant; how could it harm mef*'* 
And then the moth flies straight to destruction. 

Remember, girls, that rogues are always more pol- 
ished, more polite and more charming than many 
honest, well meaning people. They seem' to be that 
which they are not. 

"All girls between the ages of 14 to 20 are natural- 
ly, spontaneously and inevitably in love ; and all that 
is then wanting is a suitable and worthy object to lav- 
ish it on. If she finds such, well and good; but whether 
she does or not she must and will pour it out, healthy 
or otherwise, on a cat, a dog, a man or a oruie, nor 
can she help it; it is the birth of affection, love and 
romance. She thinks no wrong and fears no harm. 
Gentle, trustful, noble girl," though willful as well at 
times. 

Listen girls : since women have been given the vote, 
a big responsibility rests on your shoulders. There is 
a big world war just ahead of us. It will be a war of 
ideas fought with words, not guns. Intelligent, un- 
selfish men will be trying to make this earth a better 
place for you to live in, while selfish, brutal men will 
be trying to keep our earth just as it is; they now have 
you, as well as others, at a great disadvantage. You 
will have the casting vote ; you may have the respon- 
sibility of deciding questions that will sway the world. 
In your hands rests the future progress and future hap- 
piness of the human race. You will be called upon to 
decide how much sorrow, misery and poverty shall be 
allowed to exist in the future. You will decide how 
many glad, joyous and happy, healthy children, and 
grown people, earth shall have, and how many pinched, 
hungry, diseased and criminal faces our earth shall pro- 
duce. You will have the deciding vote, be careful what 
you do. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 247 

Think; read and think, study and think. Try and 
discover truth in all things. Try and discover the 
truth about religion, about economics, about everyday 
affairs. Listen to what your mother and father and 
others say about religion. Listen to what the preacher 
and the Sunday school teacher say about religion and 
other things, but do not ''believe" what anybody says 
unless it satisfies your reason. Take your Bible and 
read it; study it. Commence at the beginning and read 
it intelligently. Do not let your Sunday school teacher 
pick out the dainty morsels for you. Read and think 
for yourself, like you do at public school. 

Do not get the idea that I am advising you to diso- 
bey your parents. I am not. I am advising you to 
think properly so you can vote properly. And the prop- 
er way for you to vote is to vote the way your reason, 
not your prejudice, tells you to vote. And your rea- 
son cannot act unless you study and think on the ques- 
tions you are called on to decide. Learn to depend on 
your own intelligence and not be influenced or herded 
by others. 

One of the big questions for any girl to decide is the 
marriage question. It is really the biggest question 
of her life. And too many times the question is settled 
too much like the following: 

A boy and girl are out walking, out riding, sitting 
in the park or parlor and he says: "Be mine?" She 
says: "Uh-huh;" they walk across the street, procure 
a license, see a Justice of the Peace, spend ten dollars 
and ten minutes, and are joined until "death do us part." 
Easy isn't it? I say it is too easy. It m*ust be made 
harder for the protection of the individuals as well as 
for the protection of society in general. 

They have taken the most important step that two 
humans possibly can take in this life without anyone 
else interfering other than to grin and make fun of them. 
The girl has taken great risks that no girl should take, 
without consuming much time in studying every possi- 



248 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

bility connected with the matter. She can do in a mo- 
ment that which it may take a life time to undo, correct 
or wipe away. 

She runs the risk of contracting a loathsome disease 
second only to leprosy. She runs the risk of getting 
a brutal, jealous, selfish, neglectful husband in place of 
an attentive, considerate, generous and manly lover she 
thinks she is getting. The boy takes some risks, yes, 
but nothing as compared to the risk the girl takes. 

The next day, the next week, the next month or year, 
one or the other, or both of them, may wake up and 
realize that they are chained to an uncongenial, un- 
friendly, unfaithful or brutal or deceitful mate, and can- 
not become unchained unless one of them dies or one 
or the other becomes a criminal in the eyes of the law, 
and all their troubles and private affairs are exposed to 
public view while being aired in court, while the law- 
yers get a good share, if not all of their savings. 

Now this is all wrong. There is a better way. 
While we will not be able to do away with all the 
troubles of earth, we certainly can lessen them greatly 
by thinking, telling our thoughts to others and reason- 
ing together. When we start in to do some reforming 
we are usually nine-tenths wrong, but if we keep at it 
prayerfully and intelligently we will see clearly in time 
and be of service to the world. 

This is why I would like to see a new church es- 
tablished. A church where all these worldly questions 
can be talked over in a religious manner. Where views 
can be exchanged and the truth can be uncovered and 
put to work aiding justice in all human affairs. 

Religion must reform the world; women must help 
reform ireligioti. But you girls must start the ball 
rolling. You must get in the habit of thinking straight 
and deep on all questions. The church is the proper 
place to discuss things worth while. I do not refer to 
Catholic or Protestant churches or to any other church 
where a man-made god is worshipped. I refer to a 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 249 

People's church, built on broader lines; a church that 
is to come when civilization is ready for it. A church 
that will recognize the needs of human nature and 
help to supply those needs. A church that, among 
many other things, will recognize the absolute neces- 
sity of courting and will properly encourage and super- 
vise it, instead of driving it to public dance halls, back 
lanes and dark alleys. Yes, a church that would al- 
low the proper kind of dancing as well as other harm- 
less, worldly entertainments, inside of said church. A 
church for humans, not a hypocritical "house of god" 
church. God is too big to go to church or live in 
churches. Men, women and children need churches to 
teach them how to live and act towards each other. 

It is a great mistake for us to think that we honor and 
serve our Creator by kneeling and mumbling; by setting 
aside a special day as more sacred than any other day, 
or by observing any set form of worship. 

True prayer, a constant desire for that which the wor- 
thy deserve, is laudable and should be encouraged. But 
getting down on one knees and praying when we should 
be out at work, is weak, crude and heathenish. 

Our present religious system is full of inconsistencies 
that men have put there and women keep there. Wo- 
men must learn to reason and reject everything their 
reason does not approve of. Until this happens, we will 
not have a warless world. 

While our men and boys fought fine in the late war, 
our women and girls can do grander and better: they 
can think and vote for their country. The more real 
thinking we have for our country the less fighting we 
will need. 

Beware of partizanship and prejudice in everything. 
Beware of cliques, clans, political parties and religious 
demoninations. They divide and enslave the people 
while their political, financial and religious masters rob 
them. 

Do not "belong" (body and soul) to any political par- 



250 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

ty or religious organization. Do not let any individual 
or set of individuals place a collar around your neck with 
a chain attached to it. 

Do not get stampeded when some shallow brained per- 
son accuses you of being disloyal to your church, your 
political party, your lodge or club. Be loyal to your 
Creator, humanity, truth, justice and reason first. 

Do not desire, expect or accept something for nothing. 
Give an equivalent for all you recieve. If you are not 
able to give it to those from whom you recieve, then 
give to others in need of what you can give. 

Loyalty is sometimes a crime. One cannot be loyal 
to a dead, superstitious religion without being a traitor 
to humanity. 

A religion teaching that salvation rests on "belief", 
teaches error. "Belief," like "taste or "smell'" is some- 
thing over which we have no control. If a fact, we 
believe it and accept it as a fact. If garbage tasted good 
to us an smelled good to us we would all eat garbage. 
Things that do not taste and smell good to us we 
usually stear clear of. Statements that do not sound rea- 
sonable to us, we cannot accept as truth. Therefore 
it is as unjust for a Christian god, or any other god 
for that matter to tell us to "Believe or be damned," 
as it would be for such a god to tell us to eat garbage 
or "be damned." "Vicarious atonement" is simply re- 
ligious garbage. "Something for nothing" is moral 
garbage. They go together ; they are twins ; they are 
the essence of Christianity, and we must get rid of 
these ideas even at the risk of being "damned" by the 
man-made Christian god that exists only in religiously 
uneducated, unthinking minds of millions of honest, well 
meaing people whose religious mentality was placed 
in a mental dungeon in infancy, where the Sun of 
Truth and Reason never shines ; where the thunder- 
cloud of "Believe or be damned*" shuts out the genial 
light of liberty, and forbids us the right to choose that 
which seems sane, reasonable or good to us. 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 251 

Christianity itself must reform or ''be damned." In- 
telligence demands that Christianity drop its ancient 
viciousness — salvation throug-h blood and crime — and 
become civilized, refined, reasonable helpful and hu- 
rnanitarian, teaching salvation through kind acts ,noble 
deeds and knowledge or get out of the v^^ay with its : 
Believe Vicarious atonement or b^e damned* foolish- 
ness. 

We are not responsible for our likes or dislikes, 
!)ur loves or our hates. Most people like ice cream, 
especially girls. Now wouldn't it be just awful for 
some man-made god to come along and say: "Dislike 
ice cream or be damned !" 

The girls might honestly "try" to dislike ice cream 
but they just could not do it; they would crave ice 
cream all the more. They might bow their heads and 
mumble that they just hated ice cream because their 
man-made god commanded it, but — they would still 
like ice cream in spite of their hypocracy. They could 
not possibly dislike ice cream unless — they disliked it. 

On the other hand, if their man-made god told them 
to love rotten apples or "be damned" they would sure- 
ly be damned' for they could not possibly love rotten 
apples, because they are not built that way, and if 
they bowed their heads and said they loved rotten ap- 
ples they would be fibbing. 

The same reasoning holds good with this "Vicarious 
atonement" — let George or Jesus suffer for my sins — 
religious rotten apples. 

Millions of people are so constituted that reason and 
justice to them, is the same as mental ice cream, and 
they love it as dearly as most girls love real ice cream. 
They see no justice or reason in "Vicarious atonement" 
(an innocent person suffering for the crimes of the 
guilty) and will shun it' therefore the Christian god 
says: "Depart ye into everlasting hell-fire." How 
sweet and considerate ! What a lovely thing Chris- 
tianity is as it comes from the lips of ancient priests. 



252 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

brought down through the ages to us by the Bible and 
echoing through our modern churches. 

Standing alone, each individual and each nation is a 
weakling. We are all interdependent ; dependent on each 
other. We are all dependent on an unseen Power and 
Intelligence ; on Spirit, on God. The strongest individual 
or nation should not think for an instant that mortals can 
do without this Spiritual Force, which, in the absence of 
a better name, we call God or Creator, knowing as little 
of what we are talking about as the minnow knows about 
the great ocean in which it lives, moves and enjoys life. 

None of us, nations or individuals, should make the 
mistake of forgetting our Creator when prosperity is 
with us. We should remember that there will come times 
of trouble. We should try and make ourselves worthy 
of help, when needed, from the unseen, little known 
Power above and around us, when such times of trouble 
come ; when we need help greater than mortal man can 
give. In times of our greatest strength and prosperity 
we should remember our weakness and dependence on 
the Intelligent Power that brought us into_ consciousness 
on earth and will take us away again when our time 
cpmes. Just as the ocean is too vast for the minnow to 
comprehend, God is a million times harder for us to 
understand. We can only behold His works; wonder, 
admire and feel grateful for blessings showered upon us 
by showering blessnigs upon those below us. 

We should forget all man-made gods, saviours and 
idols, but remember our Creator who brougfht us to 
earth's school and who will take us. Heathen and Chris- 
tian alike, away when we graduate. We should not think 
of God as a ''Christian God." God could not and would 
not be ''Christian" any more than He could or would be 
Mohammedan or Buddhist. As if the Creator Ruler 
and Sustainer of all, could or would allow a handful of 
human microbes on one of his most insignificant little 
stars, to name Him and then call themselves his "chosen 
people." 

It is blasphemy of the worst sort for any mortal or 



IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 253 

group of mortals to try and stand on their mental tip- 
toes and attach any kind of a label to the Creator of 
everything. The Creator of all men, animals, vege- 
tables, minerals and innumerable things that we know- 
nothing of, is not "Christian." When a Christian speaks 
of a "Christian God," He speaks of a man-made god. The 
Christian god is a mental image of the unknown and 
unknowable Creator. The Mohammedan and Buddhist 
gods are man-made also. The Creator who made Chris- 
tians, Chinese, Japanese etc., is not "Christian," "Mo- 
hammedan" or "Buddhist." These names are to nar- 
row to apply to Him. Had He been "Christian" He 
never would have made a "Heathen." Had He been 
"Christian," He never would have made a "Buddhist" 
or "Mohammedan." 

Our Creator has made far more so called Heathens 
than Christians, If He had wanted more Christians than 
Heathens, He has had plenty of time in which to make 
them. Up to the preset time we have a right to sup- 
pose that God likes Heathens the best because He made 
more of them. 

Any man or woman who pretends to know more 
about our Creator, than the average intelligent person, 
only pretends, and usuaally uses such pretentions to gain 
worldly influence* pleasure and power over his fellow 
creatures ; social preferment and money. Beware of 
such men and women. They teach provincialism, part- 
isanship, denominationalism, clanishness, selfishness, 
bigotry, superstition, ancient error and ignorance. They 
divide the people into hostile camps. 

The world needs a broader creed, a grander reli- 
gious view and thought; a higher religious ideal that 
teaches that all men are God's children whether they 
realize it or not and must, in time treat each other as 
such. Each granting to others the privilege of going or 
coming to God in a manner suitable to themselves and 
God only. In other words, matters between God and 
the individual should be left to God and the individual. 
Others should not interfere. Others should help the 



254 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 

individual in worldly affairs and let the individual set- 
tle his Godly affairs himself. 

If religion will spread this thought, it will in time 
reach the heart of the world and change it from hate to 
love, from war to peace, from greed to generosity. 

Until the heart of the world is reached and changed 
it is silly to look for wars to end. Nothing but religion 
can change the heart of the world. Girls, here is your 
opportunity and duty. Break loose from ancient er- 
roneous religious thought and bring heaven to earth. 
You can do it and will do it, helped by the better class 
of men. 



CONCLUSION 

Realizing that we all should give as much to life as we 
get out of it, that the greatest need of humanity is less 
selfishness and more service, and that the greatest qual- 
ity a person can possess is kindness, it is my desire to 
aid in planning and establishing a new movement to 
better religious and economic conditions ; to aid in es- 
tablishing a nearer approach to truth and justice in these 
matters, going as far in this direction as the peoples' 
present evolution will allow. 

It is my desire to be given wisdom and power to 
help people to help themselves ; to plant correct ideas, 
both religious and economic, in the garden of the mind 
where they may grow and produce fruit after their kind. 

I realize that I, alone, am liable to do more harm 
than good, as my vision is so limited and my personal 
knowledge so small that I, of myself, without the aid 
of the (to mortals) unseen Intelligence, I despair of ever 
accomplishing anything wotrh while, as the forces of 
hypocracy in religion and greed in economics are so 
thoroughly organized and intrenched behind age old laws 
and customs that they cannot be successfully opposed 
by any singele individual unaided by a power higher 
than earthly man. 

I see before me every day a world of trouble that 
I wish to help lessen' as it pains me to behold it, and it 
lessens my own happiness on earth. I admit that I am 
selfish in the matter. I wish to help others so their 
groans will not disturb me. I wish to banish sorrow 
and pain, or as much of it as possible, because I hate 
it and do not think it necessary. And because reliev- 
ing the heavy burdens of others is the only way I can 
make my own life happier. 

I do not care to be divine. I had rather be the first 
coming of myself than to be the second coming of any- 
body. I do not love all man-kind. I do not love the hate- 
ful, ignorant, superstitious people who are drunken with 



/ 



256 IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE? 



greed and self indulgence; some calling themselves 
Christians while calling- others heathens. But I pity 
them and must necessarily do all I can to aid them to 
climb higher in order to climb higher myself, as I am a 
part of them. 

I am aware that the world usually spits on a reformer 
when he is living, kills him, then throws flowers on his 
grave. I can get along very nicely without either spit 
or flowers from others. But would be glad to join with 
intelligent, well meaning men and women to try and 
make earthly conditions better than they are at present. 

If my efforts are worthy of approval they will meet 
with success. If not, they will fail and I will be content 
to have done my full duty as I saw it. 



I WILL 



Straight ahead, my course I will pursue, 

That which my conscience judges right and true. 

Though my feelings may be hurt, or body bruised, by 

the unthinking crowd. 
My thought, my will, my soul shall soar, cannot be 

bowed. 
Sorrow, pain, and even death, to me are naught; 
All the powers of evil cannot curb my thought. 
My conscience is the Word of God to me; 
While science shall my true religion be. 
For my interpretation of God's Plan 
Is : strive to elevate myself, and others, all I can. 
The priest to whom I look, myself to guide. 
Shall reason be, with justice by its side. 
Straight ahead, my course I will pursue; 
Out of a grafting, superstitious world, I'll help to build 

a new. 



'■Bj^-23 



«i^ 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Feb. 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 1 6066 
(724)779-2111 



